Santa And The Bearded Elf
by MrsK81
Summary: Santa, a bearded elf, a closet, and the most amazing kiss... definitely a good deed with a difference for Bella Swan. But what if her Santa turned out to be someone a little closer to home, maybe a little too close to home? How does she tell him who she really is? A fun, little Christmas story with daily updates finishing on Christmas Day.
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go… one chapter a day and it will finish on Christmas Eve with an epi to follow Christmas Day. **

**Thanks to Kitty, Donna, & Mary for all their incredible help. Hope you like it!**

**Day 1**

**Bella…**

"I look ridiculous!" I stood with my hands on my green, velvet covered hips and glared at Alice. "Why the hell do you get to be the pretty little fairy and me the goddamn frumpy elf?"

Alice giggled. "Because I can pull off these pretty shoes and a tutu without breaking my ankle, Bella, and you can barely walk straight in slippers." She did a twirl in the ridiculously high shoes and waved her wand looking completely adorable and I had to admit she was right.

"Yeah, the shoes would have been my downfall. And I suppose," I stuck out my tongue, "That white Lycra suit really does show off your teenage boy breasts."

"And the gloves have come off ladies and gentlemen." She laughed. "I think you need to save the trash talk when you look like _that_."

Again she was right, because I was stuck with a green, velvet tunic with a red and white striped top underneath; green velvet shorts which were huge and made my ass look like the size of a small country, and don't even get me started on the thick wool, red and white tights that were itching like crazy. I also had a crappy little green hat and shoes with bells on-… bells!

"The universe hates me," I grumbled.

"For an elf, Bella, you're actually pretty cute." Alice grinned. "Let's go, Santa needs to use this closet to change. Wait, I almost forgot! Here."

"What the hell is that?" I shrieked.

"Your beard," she said like it was the most normal sounding thing in the world.

I took the wiry, ginger mop of hair from her with a look of disgust on my face.

"I'm supposed to be an elf, Alice, not a fucking leprechaun. Jesus," I groaned. "Why did I agree to this? Rosalie Hale is dead."

I fiddled with the beard cursing the soft side to my nature. I could have been at home with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate, but no, I was dressed like a complete idiot about to hand out gifts to the patients on the paediatric ward at Massachusetts General Hospital here in Boston.

"This is my good deed for the year, that's for sure." I attempted to pat down the ridiculous ruffles on my hips, a task that failed before it even begun.

"Who are you kidding? You'll be at the hospital bright and early on Christmas Eve like you always are. You're a Christmas Angel, Bella." Alice adjusted my beard and patted my cheek. "There—perfect."

"Gee thanks," I muttered.

We'd been forced to change inside a janitor's closet away from the main ward where all the kids were gathered. Some of them were old enough to know the truth about Santa, but some of the little ones still believed, so Rosalie wanted to make sure they didn't see us in human clothes.

We walked to Rosalie's office. Alice, Rose, and I had known each other for years and until recently we had all shared an apartment on Liverpool Street. Rose moved in with her boyfriend Emmett and Alice and I still lived together—for now anyway. After today I was seriously considering evicting her.

Rose was the administrator for the Paediatric Department, and as much as she claimed to hate kids, she spent an awful lot of her free time planning things like this. She even did her own fundraising to hire the costumes and went all over Boston to persuade large companies to donate the gifts we were handing out. I still hated her, of course.

"Hot stuff, Bella." Rose walked down the hall to us with a wide grin on her face. "You too, Alice, although you appear to be missing your tits."

Alice ignored her. "Where's Santa?"

"There," she said angrily and pointed to a man asleep in a chair. "Santa got drunk and passed out. I had to talk one of our residents into dressing up instead."

"Won't the kids recognise him?" I asked doubtfully.

"I don't know, Bella," Rose said impatiently. "It was either that or I dress up and I _think_ the kids would notice if Santa showed up with tits and long red fingernails."

"Hey this is 2013, maybe Santa caved to his cross dressing tendencies?" I said and Alice laughed.

"This was a bad idea."

We looked to the voice and Rose laughed. "Very nice, Doc."

"I don't think this is going to work," Santa's muffled voice complained.

"Pipe down and be merry—_everybody_." Rose eyed me accusingly and started to sing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year."

Her attempt to raise spirits fell flatter than a pancake and I threw her the finger, which seemed to make Santa laugh and got Rose to stop singing, so a win-win situation for us all.

"I'd do that, but these gloves are about four sizes too big," he whispered. "I can barely move my fingers."

Santa was actually quite cute… well his eyes were cute. I couldn't see much else thanks to the huge white beard. They were an unusual shade of green, not the same hideous green that I was currently fashioning. His shade of green was more… spring like.

_Spring like? Seriously? How lame am I?_

I watched Alice dance into the room to tell the kids Santa was here. As they began to cheer and clap I groaned and scratched my legs one final time.

"Stupid itchy wool," I hissed.

"Consider yourself lucky you don't have half a sheep stuck to your face and no hands to scratch it with." Santa held up his ridiculous hands again and I laughed.

"No, but I'm thinking the poor sheep whose wool was used for these tights had frickin' fleas."

"Good point." Santa nodded and then added, "I suppose the benefit I have is I won't need to worry about putting any weight on over the holidays… I'm sure I'll have sweated off about a third of my body weight by the end of the evening."

A cell phone started ringing from his direction. "Your pants are calling you."

"Like I could answer it!" He laughed and just ignored it.

I tried to discreetly scratch my leg with my foot, but it didn't give me any satisfaction and the stupid bell on my toes jingled as I did it. Santa also found that funny and I gave him a disapproving look.

"It's not polite to laugh at someone in such an embarrassing situation," I said to him and made him laugh even more. Again, I couldn't stop looking at his eyes—definitely spring like. They were all twinkly and… bouncy.

"Seriously?" I whispered to myself and unable to stand the itching I bent over to scratch them with my fingers and Santa started to cough, presumably he'd inhaled a mouthful of the sheep on his face.

"Let's go, Santa," Rose hissed and I put on my best smile and walked into the room.

It seemed to take forever, and while Santa got all the kids asking to hug him and being extra specially good just in case he put them on the naughty list—I got the naughty brats who thought tormenting me was more fun.

One little squirt in particular wouldn't leave me alone. He kept pulling my beard and hitting my feet with the wheels on a supply trolley just to try and make my bells jingle. I was about ready to throttle the little scrotum when a nurse ordered him back to his bed.

Forty eight minutes and nineteen seconds later we had to wave goodbye to Santa with the kids. As soon as Rose gave me the signal to go—I flew from the room and straight to the janitor's closet. The itching on my legs was now unbearable and as soon as I got the door closed I whipped the shorts and tights down and started scratching furiously.

"Ah," I groaned. "So, so good."

"Um… elf girl?"

I squealed and spun around to find I was face to face with green-eyed Santa. I'd been bent over mere inches away from his crotch… with just my goddamn thong on.

"Aw, crap. You just saw me… I'm so sorry but I just couldn't stand it anymore. Sheep fleas remember?" I shook my head, absolutely humiliated.

"I didn't realise elves had such good taste in underwear," he said nervously and I laughed. "Or such cute asses for that matter."

How it happened, I have no idea. One moment we were standing awkwardly with me half-dressed and still with my beard in place… and the next he was kissing me and I was kissing him right back.

His huge gloves were gone and his warm hands held my face. I wanted to point out we were both still bearded, but didn't want to stop for even a second. It was one hell of a kiss… the kind that always gives you a rush of excitement just thinking about it years down the line. Santa's tongue flicked against mine and he moaned when I sucked on his bottom lip. I was just about to do it again when his phone rang, effectively breaking our moment and he stepped away with a groan.

I watched as he took it from his pocket and looked at the display. "Hey, T. I know I missed our date, I had something important to do at work." He turned away to talk to her and as soon as his back was to me, I pulled my jeans on quickly and ran out of the room, still half dressed in the elf costume.

"Hey, Bella," Rose yelled. "I need the suit back!"

"I'll bring it to your office tomorrow," I called back without stopping.

All night I lay in bed thinking about the fact I'd made out with Santa, Santa had a girlfriend, and then Santa had a girlfriend but still made out with an elf in a janitors closet.

I made a mental note to seek professional help at some point in the near future.

**Hope you're with me! It's kind of real time… each update is pretty much a new day.**

**Thanks for reading **

**Katy**


	2. Chapter 2

**A long one today…**

**Kitty, Donna, and Mary are the best! I own nothing.**

**Day 2**

**Bella…**

_Dashing through the snow,_

_In a one horse open sleigh,_

_O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way._

_Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way._

"Damnitt, Bella!" Alice thumped on my bedroom wall. "Answer your phone and then change your ringtone. Stupid fucking Jingle Bells all the livelong day."

I looked at the caller and sighed. "Already?" I grabbed my note pad and pen ready. "Good morning, Miss. Denali."

Tanya Denali was my employer. A great big, pain in my ass employer. Tanya was a moderately successful model but she had the ridiculously inflated ego of Shannon Doherty and Kanye West's lovechild. I was her second assistant, because apparently having one girl run around for you all hours of the day simply wasn't enough. Jessica, as her first assistant got the better jobs—the more socially acceptable jobs like confirming bookings and organizing her calendar. As the second assistant, I got the really crappy, pain in my ass jobs like collecting dry cleaning, bringing coffee, fetching lunch and even the wonderful job of covering when the maid was sick.

"Finally, Isabella," she sighed impatiently down the phone. "It took you nine rings to answer. You really need to be more prompt—this is an urgent call."

"I'm sorry, Miss. Denali. Can I help you with something?"

"I need you to call Marcus from Volturi's and apologize for last night. Eddie stood me up—can you believe it? Anyway, apologize profusely and rearrange dinner for tonight."

_I feel the guy's pain… I'd rather chew off my own face than date you._

"It's six in the morning, Miss. Denali. I'm pretty sure Volturi's will be closed." I yawned.

"And? Use your initiative, Isabella. Must I do everything?" Tanya sighed again and I gritted my teeth. "You will also need to arrange for twenty-four white roses to be delivered to my office—they must be there before lunchtime."

"You want to buy yourself flowers?" I almost laughed.

"It serves a purpose," Tanya told me smugly. "Eddie is meeting me for lunch and I want him to think that there are other people paying attention. It might just nudge him along at last."

Tanya and Eddie had been together for years, but in the six weeks I'd worked for Tanya, I'd never even seen him. According to Jessica, he was a doctor and had just moved here from California. Tanya took his relocation as a sure-fire indicator that he was going to propose and was already making the plans to combine her annual Christmas party as an engagement party.

How he put up with her beat the shit out of me.

"And I'll need coffee," she added and then sighed. "I'm feeling quite fragile today so I need a treat—I'll have an unsweetened black coffee and a tablespoon of dried fruit."

"Coffee, dried fruit, flowers, and call Volturi's," I repeated, scribbling it down and failing to see how a tablespoon of dried fruit and a black, unsweetened coffee could constitute as a treat. This woman needed to loosen up and discover chocolate.

"My dry cleaning is ready, and you need to order Eddie's tux for the party. I'll email you the specifications." She barely paused for breath before continuing, "You need to call in my lunch order and please make sure you're here for nine."

"Nine?" I asked incredulously.

"Nine." She waited for me to argue so I just bit my tongue.

"Yes, Miss. Denali."

I hated my job with a passion, but I was in no position to quit, so I was stuck with it. I'd worked for a family-run toy store since I left college. I'd taken the job purely to fill a few months while I decided what I wanted to do with my life, yet six years later I'd still been there and I loved it. I'd even started to develop an interest in the design-process and had put together my own mini-portfolio of ideas I'd sketched. I'd taken my portfolio into the owner one morning and discovered the company was about to declare bankruptcy.

I was laid off and spent the next few weeks trying in vain to get someone in the same industry to see my ideas. Eventually I had to admit defeat and look for anything that was available. I saw an ad for a second assistant and applied. At the interview I knew she was going to be a boss rather like Miranda Priestley in _Devils Wears Prada_ only without the brains, but a job was a job and I had to accept. I told myself I'd keep looking for something else while I worked for her, but the hours were long and I just lost motivation.

"You'll need to make me an appointment at the salon. Just make sure they order the right shade this time."

_Oh, she's still talking._

"Yes, Miss. Denali." I skimmed over the list and almost cried.

_Coffee, treat, Volturi's, Tuxedo, Salon, dry cleaning…_

When she finally hung up I sighed; there was no time to get all those jobs done _and_ get to her apartment by nine. When I left my bedroom, Alice was standing in the kitchen, glaring at me over the top of her coffee cup.

"Sorry she woke you," I said sheepishly.

"She's taking advantage."

"I know," I admitted. "But what can I do?"

"Quit?" Alice said like it was the most obvious thing.

"You know I can't just quit." I shook my head and poured myself a coffee. "I need this job to make rent and the last time I checked you didn't earn enough to cover me. Can we not talk about Tanya right now?"

"Okay, let's talk about why you took off from the hospital last night." She smirked. "I saw Santa go in… I saw you go in… then you come tearing out like a bat out of hell."

"I think I preferred the Tanya conversation," I grumbled.

"Tell me everything," she pressed. "I know something happened."

"I made out with Santa," I groaned and put my face in my hands. "And I mean with beards and everything."

"You slut!" she laughed. "I bet that was really weird?"

"Not nearly as weird as it should have been." I saw her grimace. "It was actually really hot until his girlfriend called him."

"No!"

"Yep. Santa is a whore." I laughed. "But he could certainly kiss like a pro. Mrs. Claus is a luck lady."

"You need to ask Rose who it was." She said, topping up my coffee. "You never know what could happen."

"Do I really want something to happen with a man who despite having a girlfriend, makes out with strange looking bearded women in closets?" I asked her doubtfully.

"Would you have predicted me hooking up with a guy like Jasper Whitlock?" she fired back.

"Alice Brandon, personal shopper at Macy's with slightly concerning OCD tendencies, head over heels in love with a dirty boat mechanic with zero interest in fashion… no I suppose not." I laughed. "But at least he asked your name before he stuck his tongue in your mouth."

"But this guy wanted to make out with you in _that_ costume." Alice pulled a face. "He must have really liked you."

"Or he's a weirdo with a fetish for bearded women?" I offered.

"That could be a valid point." She nodded. "So maybe, you can keep the beard... just in case you meet him again?"

"Not going to happen." I laughed and finished my coffee. I'd need another nine or ten of these just to make it through the first few hours.

"Let's ask Rose who he was," she said excitedly refusing to let it go.

"Let's not," I told her firmly. "And let's not tell Rose about the closet kissing incident, she'll take great pleasure in bringing it up at every opportunity."

"And how do you know I won't do that?" Alice winked.

"Because I know what Jasper's _fetish_ is." I smirked. "We share a wall, Alice, and trust me it isn't soundproof. Unless you want me to accidentally let it slip in front of Rose and Emmett?"

"My lips are sealed," she said and then we both burst out laughing.

Xxx

"Eddie's here. The doorman is sending him up now," Tanya told us. "I'll be in my office. You're to tell him I'm on an important call and keep him waiting out here. Listen for me saying, _Amun, you're such a flirt,_ and then you can send him in."

"Yes, Miss. Denali." I glanced across the room to Jessica when she closed the door to her office. "Fake calls, sending herself flowers? Who is this guy?"

Jessica sighed dreamily. "I've only met him once, but all I'll say, he should have his own TV show called _Dr_. _Dreamboat_. Totally gorgeous, like drop-dead makes you want to cry and bow to his feet, gorgeous. I'd let him give me a physical any time."

"There has to be something wrong with him," I whispered doubtfully. "I mean, how could you stand to be with _her_?"

Jessica laughed. "I have no idea. I've already dreamed up about a thousand ways to kill her and dispose of her body."

"Well if you come up with a plan, I'll give you an alibi."

"Deal! Then we'll live at her place and wear her clothes as a reward for putting up with her this long." I couldn't tell from her tone if she was joking, so I laughed once and then decided to keep an eye on her… just in case.

Tanya lived and worked from her home on Devonshire Street. She'd converted two apartments into one, and it took up an entire floor. As expensively decorated as it was, I thought it was un-homely and cold. White, tiled floors and white walls with just a few expensive pieces of art dotted here and there. It didn't look lived in at all. The only photographs anywhere were enlarged prints of her that she'd got from various different shoots. There was not a single one of her family, friends, or even her boyfriend—Dr. Dreamboat. Tanya thought there was no one more important than Tanya and it irritated the shit out of me.

Of course, she had good reason to be vain and completely self-adoring. Tanya was most men's dream girl, outwardly anyway. She had sleek, long, platinum blonde hair and tanned skin without a single blemish—although I'd never seen this girl without her make up. She was tall, super-slim, graceful even in six inch heels, and had a wardrobe Alice would definitely kill for.

_Did I mention I hated her?_

There was a knock on the door so I walked across the hall to answer it, and when I did I just stood gaping at the sight before me—gorgeous didn't quite cover it. As I ogled, I also thought that there was also something really familiar about him.

"Eddie?" I guessed, still trying to work out how I knew him.

He grimaced. "I prefer Edward."

"I'm sorry, _Edward_." I smiled. "Can I get you a coffee? Tanya's just on an important call and she asked if you could wait out here."

"Sure," he said politely and instead of sitting on the couch in the reception area, he followed me over to the mini-office area Tanya had created. "And coffee sounds great."

"Hi, Edward," Jessica gushed. "It's so good to see you again."

"Hello," he said politely.

The longer I looked at him, the more familiar he seemed, but I couldn't have met him before. I mean I'd remember seeing _him_ surely? I tried looking him over as discreetly as I could. Six-two give or take an inch, and when he shrugged out of his jacket I could see he was lean but muscular. His black beanie hat, which he didn't remove, was hiding most of his head, but I could see strands of a deep bronze coloured hair sticking out—something to grab onto in _other_ situations. As he turned away, I saw he had a strong and defined profile, not a bump in his nose and even his lips were perfect.

_Santa had pretty good lips. Yeah, that still sounded weird._

I wondered if Dr. Dreamboat had been a model too, and that was how he'd been unfortunate enough to meet Tanya. If not, he really should have pursued that as a career… preferably a naked model in my bedroom.

"It's freezing outside, hey, Edward?" Jessica asked, batting her eye lids in his direction and I had to stifle a laugh at just how mesmerised she was.

"_Really_ freezing. I'd forgotten just how cold it got here in winter," he said, rubbing his hands together. I gave him the coffee and watched his long fingers close around the cup trying to get warm. "So, this urgent call… was it timed for my arrival?" He gave us a knowing look and then laughed when I tried to deny it. "Give me some credit, ladies. I've known her long enough to understand her tactics."

"Really, Edward, she is on a call with… um… I forget who but she's been talking for a while," Jessica babbled unconvincingly.

I laughed but said nothing else and Edward smirked. "Your laugh tells me everything." He sat on the edge of my desk and I had to fight to keep my eyes focused in front of me.

"You can sit down here, Edward," Jessica offered sweetly as she stood up and pointed to her chair.

"Oh, thanks," he said and then looked around, puzzled. "But where are you going to sit?"

Obviously she hadn't thought her act of generosity through, because now she had no chair and was standing in the middle of the office like an idiot.

_Poor girl. _

"Um… actually I was just going to get a coffee. Anybody want one? No. Okay. I'll see you later." She grabbed her coat and walked away muttering, "Dammit, Jessica. What the hell was that?"

Edward looked at me and asked, "Isn't that coffee?"

I saw the full cup of coffee on her desk and laughed. "She struggles with coherency in the company of cute guys."

"Cute guys, huh?" Edward grinned and sat in her chair. "You think I'm cute?"

"Please." I rolled my eyes. "Do you not own a mirror?"

"I do but I have to fight Tanya to get a look at it," he teased and I shook my head. "You know I'm right."

"I value my job… and my life far too much to respond to that." I smirked and he chuckled.

"I know this sounds like some sort of line, but have we met before?" he asked, leaning on Jessica's desk. "You weren't here the last time I came?"

"No to both. I'm the new girl and I don't recall meeting you anywhere before." I accidentally-on-purpose forgot to mention I was thinking the same. "Maybe we met in another life?"

"Or maybe just my dreams," he mumbled so quietly I wasn't sure I heard him right.

"What was that?" I asked leaning forward, mirroring his position.

"I was being an ass. I'm sorry." He smiled and I saw a hint of redness form on his cheeks that I didn't think was the cold.

Tanya burst out laughing and Edward sighed again. "She's pissed at me." I didn't say anything and he added, "The fake phone laugh is a clear sign I'm about to get the _Tanyatrum_."

"_Tanyatrum_?" I laughed.

"You can't call it a tantrum, it's much worse than a tantrum. Like I said it's a _Tanyatrum_." He chuckled. "I stood her up—totally not my fault."

"I'm sure it wasn't." I lowered my voice. "But, she was majorly pissed this morning, I know because I took the brunt of it at six am. In future, maybe you could call her and save my poor ears? Or maybe just call me and pre-warn me?"

"Sure, calling you wouldn't be too painful I suppose." He winked, and it was my turn to blush. "For what it's worth, I didn't just stand her up without a valid reason. I got caught up doing a good deed at work and when I realized just what time it was… well… I'd ruined her plans." He didn't look sorry, more resigned. "I guess I'll pay for it later. What else did she do?"

"I really shouldn't be telling you this, but that's a fake phone call," I whispered as quietly as possible not really sure why I was telling him at all. "And she sent herself a bunch of flowers to piss you off. So I'd hazard a guess that you're in pretty deep shit."

"That bad?" He grimaced and then muttered sarcastically, "Super."

I watched him drink his coffee, totally and utterly fascinated with him. He was different to Tanya in every possible way—aside from their looks I couldn't see them together at all. Edward was sweet and funny without the need for the incredible gorgeousness that he had in abundance and Tanya had the personality of a broomstick.

"Are you going to her Christmas party?" he asked. "According to the hype it's going to be the social event of the year."

"Do I detect sarcasm?" I smirked. "I guess if Tanya needs me, then I have to go, but I'd prefer not to. I usually do something else on Christmas Eve. It's become sort of a ritual for me ever since..."

"Ever since what?" he asked.

I didn't want to talk about the reason, and if he knew what I did he might mistake me for some perpetual do-gooder, so I ignored his question and asked, "Are you going to the party?"

His brow furrowed when I changed the subject, but he let it go. "Right now, I'd fear for my life if I didn't go. It's what… three weeks away?"

"Yep." I nodded.

"A lot can happen in three weeks." He rubbed his face with one hand. "Besides, it really isn't my scene."

"Nor mine."

"So what is your scene then?"

"Spending time at home and with my friends," I said simply. "Preferably someplace warm and dry."

"Boyfriend?" he asked.

"Nope, no time for a boyfriend. Tanya is very demanding," I said and found myself feeling a little on the spot. He was staring at me intently. "I'll go and see if she's ready for you."

"She'll let me hang for as long as possible. Let her come around." He shook his head. "What did you do to deserve a job like this?"

"That's harsh," I said in disapproval and he laughed.

I seriously knew this guy… those eyes… why did I know those eyes?

"Hey, I know Tanya and I know how difficult she is." He didn't laugh, he actually looked sad.

"How did you meet?" I asked him. "I mean, I'm sure you look great together, but you're so different in other ways."

"Our parents are good friends and we grew up together. She wasn't always so high-maintenance." He smirked. "That came over time."

"I can't imagine her any different," I admitted.

"She used to be a lot of fun. We were always friends and then started dating just before I left for college. She stayed here to start modelling and I studied at Stanford so we didn't really see that much of each other. Since I moved back to Boston, it's been strange spending so much time with her."

"She said you took the job here to be closer to her," I said through gritted teeth, dreaming up my own plot to dismember her body simply for bagging a boyfriend like Edward. "That was really sweet."

"She said that?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually she wasn't the reason. I missed my family—I'm a bit of a home boy and wanted to be closer to them. Maybe it's best you don't tell Tanya that, she'd probably castrate me."

I grinned. "But if I tell her I could make her think I'm her friend and she might start being nice to me."

"Yeah right," he scoffed. "I've been here four times since I came home and you're the fourth assistant I've seen. She doesn't do nice. I'm surprised that other girl stuck it out this long."

"That may have more to do with _Dr_. _Dreamboat's_ occasional visits." I winked.

"Dr. Dreamboat? Really?" he groaned. "Oh dear."

"I think it suits you," I joked and his eyes lit up.

"You do?" He smiled a goofy, crooked smirk. "I'm sorry I didn't even ask your name."

"It's Bella," I said feeling a blush on my cheeks. "But Tanya insists on calling me Isabella… apparently it sounds classier."

"That doesn't surprise me." He chuckled then his expression softened. "I like Bella, it's very fitting."

"Thanks," I said, grinning stupidly.

"So, _Bella_, tell me what you would rather be doing on Christmas Eve, I'm intrigued."

"Isabella," Tanya hissed and I saw her standing in the door to her office—pissed. I guess I missed her cue. "I told you to send Eddie straight in."

"But you said-" I began to argue but she cut me off.

"I'm so sorry you had to sit out here, darling," she said sweetly to Edward. "You just can't get efficient staff anymore."

I took a few deep, calming breaths and saw Edward smile. "You were on a call, Tanya. I just figured you were busy. Bella's been keeping me company."

"Thank you, _Isabella_, but I'm sure you have plenty of work to be getting along with." Tanya's voice was sickeningly sweet and I rolled my eyes as soon as she wasn't looking my way.

"Yes, Miss. Denali," I said and saw Edward smirk.

Tanya snatched the hat of his head and without it, he was even more attractive. His hair was messy and strands fell into his eyes. His girlfriend didn't share my enthusiasm for the sex-hair and immediately started flattening it. "You need a haircut."

"It's fine," he grumbled and immediately ran his fingers through it recreating the wonderful mess on the top of his head.

"It really isn't." She turned up her nose. "I'll have Isabella make you an appointment at the salon. You simply cannot come to the party looking like that."

He ignored her. "Thanks for the coffee, Bella," he said to me reluctantly.

"No problem."

As he followed her into his office, she dropped the niceties straight away. "So, what the hell happened last night?" She forgot to shut the door, so I listened shamelessly.

"I was waiting and waiting for you to collect me and nothing. Not a phone call, text, or an email… nothing. I'll feel so humiliated how I'll ever face those people at Volturi's again I have no idea." She sounded on the verge of tears. "You don't miss a reservation at Volturi's, Eddie, you just don't."

"Tanya, I said I was sorry. We had a surprise for the kids at work. Santa was coming to hand out gifts, but he got hammered and I had to dress up."

_Edward was Santa?_

"Nooohhh," I squealed loudly and then clamped my hand over my mouth.

Obviously I'd been heard, because Tanya strutted over to the door and slammed it.

Holy shit! I'd kissed her boyfriend… Eddie… Edward… Dr. Dreamboat? Dr. Dreamboat was Santa? I'd spent most of the night fantasizing about doing a hell of a lot more than kissing Tanya's boyfriend—I was screwed.

* * *

**I know, I know Tanya's a bitch but I love some crazy girlfriend every now and then! And just wait for EPOV before you get upset about his choice in girlfriend, pretty please... okay? **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys are blowing my mind I swear!**

**See you tomorrow.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to Kitty, Donna, and Mary—so much love for those ladies!**

**I own nothing.**

**Just a little one for today...**

**Day 3**

_**Edward...**_

I was about to start my rounds when I found myself standing outside the janitors closet... thinking... remembering. The thought of that kiss... damn.

I'd been intrigued by the cute little elf anyway, even in the beard and that really bad outfit there was something about her. Of course, the beard could have been hiding black teeth and actual man stubble, but I'd tried not to think about that. As it turned out, any fears about what she looked like underneath the costume were unfounded, because I'd been about to take the ridiculous suit off when she'd burst into the room and started stripping off.

Like some dirty, little pervert I'd watched and then she bent over right in front of me—in just a thong. I would be eternally grateful for the huge pants and padding which concealed my instant boner.

It was totally out of character for me. I wasn't spontaneous or passionate, and I'd _never_ felt attraction like that to a total stranger, but I'd been completely unable to help myself and I'd kissed her. Like an asshole, I didn't even talk to her or move my beard… I didn't even move hers.

_Shit, what if it wasn't fake?_

"Everything okay, Doc?"

I looked down and saw Embry Call, one of our long term patients staring up at me. "Sorry, what?"

"You're staring at the janitor's closet," he pointed out.

"I was just thinking about something."

"I bet you were." He snickered.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Doc," he said innocently, but he had a knowing smile on his face.

Trying to distract him and not think about what he _thought_ he knew or saw, I put my hand on his back. "Come on, let's get you back to bed before your nurse comes looking for you."

"She won't. I locked her in the bathroom," he said as if it was the most natural thing to do and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Embry was our resident rogue. He was recovering from a serious head injury and was just about ready to be discharged. Bored, mischievous, and completely unapologetic about his behavior he caused mayhem for the nurses, but I loved him to death.

"This place is going to be dull when you finally go home," I told him and he grinned.

"Yup," he said smugly. "Hey, Doc, is Santa coming back today?"

"You want to see Santa again?" I asked but he shook his head.

"Nah, I just liked messing with that elf. She kept swearing at me when I pulled her beard and ran over her feet with the trolley." He laughed.

"I'm sure Santa won't like you tormenting his helper what if he doesn't bring you any presents?" I said, not sure if he knew the big secret or not.

"Doc, please. I'm twelve." He laughed. "I know Santa isn't real and if he was… I'd still prefer the elf. Mm, I'd tap that."

"You'd what?" I looked at him in shock. "Jeez, Embry, you're twelve, you can't say that. Do you even know what tapping… actually, forget I asked, I don't want to know. Anyway, I'm sure the elf has a boyfriend." I really hoped she didn't.

"Yeah she does… Santa!" He waggled his eyes and I started to panic.

"What?"

"I saw her go into the janitor's closet and I figured she was getting changed so I snuck open the door to see if I could get a flash of her bra or something."

"Embry," I groaned.

"Don't worry, Doc, I didn't see her bra." He shrugged. "She was too busy sucking face with Santa."

"She was?" I gulped. "Okay… so… what… um… what else did you see?"

"Nothing. A nurse yelled at me and then took me back to bed."

"Oh." I sighed in relief. "Speaking of nurses, I should go and rescue the one you locked in the bathroom."

"Hey, Doc," he called out and I saw him start to smirk. "I thought you made a great Santa."

He gave me a _busted _look and I just stood there like a moron. "Embry, I-"

At that moment a very disgruntled nurse came marching towards Embry's bed and started telling him why locking people in the bathroom was an irresponsible and dangerour thing to do. I used the distraction to slip away, feeling seriously conflicted.

The bearded elf was all I could think about, but I had a girlfriend and that made me the lowest of the low. I was with _Tanya _not the elf. I had been with Tanya for years and not once, during all the time we spent apart, had I so much as looked at anybody else. Nobody expected us to stay together when I moved to California for Med School, but it worked for us. In fact, it was only since I moved back to Boston and started spending more time with her that I'd realized how much we'd both changed. Everyone we knew expected us to be engaged before the year was out, but the thought of marrying her made me feel nauseous. Tanya was convinced I had the proposal all planned out and the truth was, I had no intention of proposing and I was considering ending the relationship altogether. I'd nearly done it so many times, but something always came up; work, trips... and guilt made more than a few appearences too. Besides, I couldn't end it now, I couldn't do that to her at Christmas, could I?

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**I know it was only a little one in comparison to yesterday, but more to come tomorrow! Hopefully Edward redeemed himself a teeny tiny bit... we can forgive him for kissing Bella right?**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing-you're all wonderful!**

**xxxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks as always to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for all of their incredible help!**

**Day 4**

_Bella…_

"Hey, Dr. C," I said happily and the old doctor laughed. "How are you doing this morning and how's my favourite patient?"

"It's been a good morning so far, hasn't it, Mrs. Cope?" He patted the elderly lady's hand. "She's been awake since I arrived."

I took off my coat and hung it on the back of the door, before sitting beside the bed. Dr. C was studying a print out. "What's that?"

"The nurses noticed an elevation in her heart rate during the night." He smiled. "Nothing to worry about."

"Were you dreaming about that handsome husband of yours again?" I picked up Mrs. Cope's copy of Little Women and found the last page I read. "I've seen those photos, Mrs. Cope. I bet he got your heart racing."

"We should be paying you for this." Dr. C laughed. "You're like a breath of fresh air in this place, Bella. Everybody loves you."

"I can't fault them." I waggled my eyes.

Dr. C was my favourite doctor on the Neurology ward by a country mile. We'd first met ten years ago when I lost my father to a stroke. Despite the bleak prognosis, Dr. C did everything he could to save him and I would be forever thankful for that. Because of him, I got a precious extra few hours to spend with my dad before he died and I was there to hold his hand at the end.

Ever since then Alice and I spent a few hours a week sitting with the patients who didn't have any family of their own. I preferred to read to them while Alice being Alice usually gave them manicures and combed their hair.

I'd been coming to see Mrs. Cope for almost a month and I'd grown really attached to her. I came here most nights with or without Alice. I was even planning to spruce up her room, but I needed my favourite doctor on side for that.

"Dr. C?" I asked him sweetly.

"Oh lord, what now?" He hid his face behind Mrs. Cope's chart. "The last time you batted your eyelids like that, I had to let you sneak a snake onto the ward and then try and cover it up when one of the nurses saw it and went nuts."

"It was for the benefit of the patient." I laughed. "He missed his pet and wanted to make sure it was okay. It's not like I meant for it to escape."

It had actually been a successful idea that really cheered up the patient. The nurse had come into the room to adminsiter his meds and and we hadn't been able to hide it in time. She ran out screaming at the top of her lungs that there was a cobra attacking her patient.

It was actually a Kenyan Sand Boa and I was assured it was harmless. Dr. C calmed her down and helped me sneak it back out... but he still liked to remind me of it whenever I asked him for a favor.

"I don't doubt your intentions are always good, Bella, but either way, I've come to dread you asking me for favours." He shook his head but couldn't stop smiling. I had him wrapped around my finger. "So what do you want?"

"Again, it's not for me, but for my wonderful patient," I reminded him. "I was wondering if we could get Mrs. Cope a Christmas tree? "

"You don't mean a plastic one I assume?" He sighed and I shook my head.

"There's nothing like the smell of a real tree, Dr. C. I can get one that doesn't shed needles and I promise it will be small. I'll put it in that corner away from the monitors and everything." I batted my eyelids and he chuckled. "Please can I?"

Dr. C hesitated. "I'm not sure the cleaning staff will like it very much."

"I'll take care of it, I promise." I turned up the puppy-dog eyes and he groaned.

"It's times like this I'm grateful we only ever had a son... you girls are far too good at that." He shook his head.  
"Fine, get the tree, but I'm going to pretend you didn't even ask for my permission, and then you can't take me down with you."

"Thanks, Dr. C. You're the best!" I gave him a big hug and he laughed.

"You're a dangerous creature, Miss. Swan."

He left to finish his rounds and I settled in with Mrs. Cope. We were almost half-way through her favourite book and I was enjoying reading it again as much as her. I lost all sense of time and four chapters later I realised my audience was enjoying a mid-morning nap.

Just like my father, Mrs. Cope also suffered a stroke, but unlike my father, her prognosis was good. She'd need a lot of rehabilitation to recover just a fraction of her movement and speech, but she was a fighter and I knew she'd get through it. The doctors at the hospital were trying to find Mrs. Cope a place in a rehabilitation centre and they were hoping to have her settled in her new home before Christmas. I'd really miss her once she was discharged, but there were so many other patients like her who needed someone to care.

"We'll resume tomorrow," I whispered to her. "We're getting to the good stuff now and you have to be awake for that."

Talk about getting to the good stuff… I'd enjoyed another vivid fantasy about Santa and the closet last night, only this time Santa's beard was gone and it was Edward's face staring back at me. I'd crossed the line from fawning over a "moment" with Santa and _imagining_ what a great guy he really was to knowing he was a really great guy that belonged to someone else yet still imagined having him as my own.

"Not that it's ever going to happen," I muttered to myself. "I'm just a wannabe man-thief."

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**More tomorrow, thanks for reading and reviewing. **

**Katy**

**xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading and reviewing! **

**Day 5**

**Bella…**

After reading to Mrs. Cope again the following day, I had to go back to the paediatric unit to return Rosalie's elf costume. I had planned to do it the day before… and the day before that, but a certain encounter with my mystery Santa had totally occupied my mind and I'd forgotten. I may also have been too chicken to face him, but we don't need to talk about that.

I looked around hoping and praying I wouldn't see Edward. I knew the doctors worked odd, long hours so there was every chance he was here. I continued to look everywhere as I walked to Rose's office, unfortunately, I looked everywhere but in front of me and because the universe hated me, I walked smack in to someone's chest.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled in embarrassment.

"Bella?"

It just _had _to be him of course.

"Oh my God, Edward, hi." I smiled.

"What are you doing here?" He sounded hopeful.

"I need to return something to Rosalie Hale," I said, making sure the bag was behind my back. "We're friends."

"I see, small world." He looked disappointed.

"Totally small world." I looked down at my feet. "I guess I should…"

"Bella?" Rosalie called out. "Did you bring the co-?"

"It's here," I cut her off quickly and as soon as she was close enough I thrust the bag at her. "I should go."

"Did you come from upstairs?" she asked.

"Yep." I nodded, eager to leave.

"You make me feel like Scrooge with all the good deeds you do." She laughed. "This one's heading for Sainthood, Edward."

"Hey, she works for Tanya, trust me, Rose, she's already there." Edward smirked and when he looked at me I almost forgot Rose was standing with us.

When I caught her eye again, she was looking very deliberately between Edward and me and I knew she'd have a whole lot of questions as soon as she had me alone. I made my excuses and hurried off the ward hearing yelling and giggling coming from behind me.

As I turned around I realised that the hatred the universe had for me ran really fucking deep, and then I was flat on my back.

_**Edward…**_

I was worried about my mental health. For the past four days I'd imagined doing insanely dirty things to a girl with a beard. I took twice as long to do my rounds because I kept getting distracted. The memory of her ass right there in front of me, the white thong, the way she sucked my bottom lip… sucked… shit.

_Uncomfortable pant situation again, thank God for the white coat._

Too busy thinking about sucking and kissing I wasn't looking where I was going and walked straight into someone and when I saw who it was I felt weirdly happy.

"Bella?"

Tanya's assistant was actually sort of beautiful in a completely different way to Tanya. She was real and warm, drawing me into those big brown eyes. In fact, it was those eyes of hers that struck a chord that I'd met her before, I was convinced of it. But surely I'd have remembered seeing her? She'd made me laugh so much that I'd chosen to sit and talk to her instead of seeing my girlfriend—her employer. I'd listened to her talk, lamely attempted to flirt with her, and then literally hanging on her every word like some weird fool. I'd been insanely disappointed when my girlfriend interrupted us, because I would have quite happily sat there all day and talked to her.

Things were so messed up and in reality they had been since I moved back to Boston. I was avoiding Tanya, shamelessly avoiding her and yet she didn't seem to notice. I knew what I had to do to put it right, but doing at this time of year felt so cruel and surely after all this time I owed her something?

Then I'd bumped into Bella here and for the briefest of moments I thought she was here to see me and that put a goofy grin on my face. However it hadn't been the case and I listened as she chatted to her friend, disappointed that I wasn't the reason behind her appearance. As she walked away, I was going to ask Rose if she'd been to the ward before, thinking that might be why she looked so familiar but Embry came tearing past us with a crutch in his hand and two nurses hot on his heels yelling at him to stop.

Bella heard the commotion and turned around at exactly the wrong moment. Embry was looking back at his pursuers and hit Bella in the face with the crutch. She fell to the floor with a thud and I could see the blood around her mouth straight away.

"Bed, Embry, now!" I shouted at the scared looking kid and ran over to Bella.

"That little brat," she moaned. "He needs to be in restraints. Is he part-rabid dog?"

"He is a handful." I chuckled and sat her up. "Let me clean that up."

"Oh shit, how bad?" she asked, gingerly touching her face and then gasping at the blood.

"I'm sure it looks worse than it is." I held her arm. "Can you stand?"

"You okay, Bella?" Rose asked, keeping her distance. "You know me and blood. I'll be in my office if you need me."

"Thanks for the support, Rose," Bella muttered.

I took Bella to an empty treatment room and sat her on the bed,

"I swear that kid hates me." She winced as I started wiping away the blood.

"Sorry." I tried to be as gentle as I could.

"Is it broken?" she asked.

"No. You've cut it here." I touched it gently. The cut ran from the bottom of her nostril to the top of her lip. "I'll just clean it up, but I promise there's no permanent damage, you're still just as beautiful."

I cringed at how lame that sounded and then noticed her blushing.

_Nice work, doctor, you've embarrassed her._

It was totally inappropriate to say that to her, and even more inappropriate to spend as long as I did cleaning her up. The truth was I just wanted to spend more time in her company.

"I was happy to see you survived your punishment for standing up your girlfriend?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. "I take it Tanya didn't castrate you or anything?"

"Definitely no castration." I smirked. "But she does expect me to make it up to her. She needs me to impress her, apparently."

"Good luck with that." She laughed. "Is there anything that impresses her?"

"Just the one thing," I said glumly. "She's waiting for me to propose."

"I know," she said quietly. "She has me working on the celebrations."

"What celebrations?"

"The Christmas party is also being readied as an engagement party." When I didn't say anything she added, "I think that's why she's hyping it up so much."

"I'm sorry… what did you say?" I asked in disbelief. "She's already planning it?"

"Yeah and she has been for about a month now. She had me order a cake and balloons with your initials on and then there's..." She hesitated.

"What?" Did I even want to know?

"The announcement in the herald." She saw my horrified expression and smiled apologetically. "I had to prepare an announcement ready for when you pop the question."

"Tell me you're joking?" I groaned. "She actually asked you to write it?"

"Yep. It goes something like, _Tanya Denali and Dr. Edward A. Cullen to be married. The successful model is thrilled to be planning what she says will undoubtedly be the wedding of the decade and was overjoyed when her beloved fiancé popped the question at her most favourite time of the year_." She asked me, "What does the A stand for?"

"Anthony," I told her and sat down beside her on the bed. "Is she insane?"

"Focused and determined apparently." She jumped off the bed, quickly putting some distance between us. "Thanks for cleaning me up."

"Anytime," I said to her, still in shock. "Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't going to propose." Why I told her that I didn't know.

"Oh dear," she said dramatically. "Shall I prepare your obituary?"

I couldn't help but laugh, the absurdity of the situation was incredible. Two women were hounding my thoughts and neither was Tanya. There was Bella, beautiful, sassy, and smart and then there was the spunky, cute, bearded elf with the hot mouth and the even hotter ass.

Like I said… I was either insane or screwed, and not in the good way!

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**More to come tomorrow!**

**Hope you still trust me :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading!**

**Day 6**

**Bella…**

I was just getting ready to head out of the office to pick up the tree for Mrs. Cope when I heard _that_ voice.

"Hey, Bella. How's the injury?"

My stomach did flips as Edward walked over to my desk. "Good actually. I had great medical attention." I smiled and stood up to put on my coat. "Tanya's at the salon, didn't she tell you?"

"Oh, obviously not." He scuffed the floor with his foot. "I was hoping to get some lunch. Um… I don't suppose you're free right now?"

"I'm busy, sorry." I tried my best to ignore Jessica who was gawking at the exchange.

"Doing what?" he pressed.

"I have to get a tree," I told him as I walked towards the door and he grinned.

"For Tanya?"

"No not for Tanya." I laughed at both the absurdity of the question and the disbelief in his voice. "Definitely not for Tanya."

"I could help you?" he offered.

"It's not necessary, Edward," I tried to tell him but he stuck out his bottom lip. "Fine, let's go."

That seemed to cheer him up immensely and I did my best not to read too much into that. We made small talk as we walked, I felt uneasy spending time alone with him given the very obvious complications, but loved his company at the same time.

"This one." I pointed out a relatively small tree that wasn't going to get in the way.

"That's a bit stingy don't you think?" Edward snorted. "I never took you for an Ebenezer Scrooge type. I think you should go for that big one over there."

"I can't." I scribbled down the address it was to be delivered to and handed it over to the salesman. "It's not for me."

"For the hospital?" he asked, peering over my shoulder.

I nodded. "Yep."

"For family?" he asked softly.

"No. My friend and I volunteer a few hours a week." I paid for the tree and we walked slowly back towards Tanya's apartment. "My father died there ten years ago and the people on that ward really made a huge difference for us in those last few hours, so I thought I'd try and give something back."

"That's an amazing thing to do," he said and he patted my hand.

"Dr. C tells me which patients don't have any family or friends and we sit with them." I noticed Edward grinning. "What?"

"Dr. C." He said, still smiling. "I've never heard anyone call him that before."

"You know him?"

"I do as a matter of fact. Dr. C is my father."

"Really?" I laughed once. "It _is_ a small world. Your father's a pretty cool guy."

"Yeah, he is. He inspired me so much. I wanted to be just like him." I could see the pride in his eyes when he spoke. "He's a great doctor."

"Like father, like son, I guess." I smiled.

"I hope you don't think I'm prying but how old were you when you lost your father?" he asked quietly.

"Fourteen." I sat down on the wall outside Tanya's building and he sat close beside me.

"What happened?"

"I can't remember much," I admitted and closed my eyes. "I remember he was complaining of a headache and then I was sitting outside the room at the hospital."

Edward rested his hand on top of mine and I stared at it for several seconds. "What did you do… after?"

"It was just me and Dad so I had to go into foster care." I saw Edward's sad expression and added, "It wasn't a bad experience for me. Obviously it wasn't what I would have chosen but that's how I met Alice. We lived with the same foster parents until we were old enough to get our own apartment."

"It's good that you had her," he said softly. "I can't imagine having to go through that."

"I don't think I could have done it without Alice or the Hales. They were so wonderful." I smiled warmly. "We lived with Rose… your administrator."

"Really?"

"Yeah, her parents had this huge house and her older brothers had gone off to college so they used to take in kids who needed accommodation. We got on so well together we never left." I smiled.

"What happened to Alice?"

"Similar situation to me, she lost her mother about six months before Dad died." I glanced up at him and saw a weird look on his face. "Um… that's why we try to help out. We were lucky, not everyone is, you know?"

"You're really something, you know that?" he said softly.

"Not really," I said to him but he shook his head.

"Yes really." He stared down at me. I saw his gaze drop to my mouth and then back up to my eyes.

My heart thumped and my stomach clenched with anticipation that he might kiss me. As much as I wanted to kiss him again, I didn't want to get myself into a situation like that so I stood up quickly and stepped a few feet away from him. "I really should get back. Thanks, Edward."

"No problem." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "See you later, Bella."

When I got back to my desk, Jessica was practically salivating at the mouth to find out what happened with Edward. I did my best to convince her he'd just been checking up on me after my incident at the hospital and that I knew his dad. I hoped to God she believed me, because the last thing I needed was it getting back to Tanya that I'd fallen for her boyfriend.

Had I fallen for him? I mean it had only been six days since the incident in the closet. The frightening thing was, even if that kiss had never happened I couldn't deny Edward was the kind of guy I could fall for and the more I thought about it, the more I realized there was nothing _could_ about it. I was already there.

I was so in over my head I felt like I was drowning.

**More to come tomorrow, it will probably be a little earlier. Hubs and I are off out for the night for my works Christmas party... free bar and no kiddos!**

**Thanks for all your amazing reviews, I love you guys so much!**

**Katy**

**x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading!**

**How about some more Edward & Dr. C?**

**Day 7**

**Edward...**

Could you page Dr. Cullen for me?" I asked at the nurse's station. I saw her frown at my identification. "The _other_ Dr. Cullen—my father."

"Sure thing." She laughed. "Do you want to just wait in his office?"

"Thanks."

Dad's office was more like a home study than a doctor's office. Along with countless journals and reference guides, there were framed photographs of us all over the walls and his desk. Even our old dog had his own dedicated section.

It was my dad that inspired me to choose this as a career. He never pushed me or expected me to follow in his footsteps, but when I told him I was applying to medical school he'd been so proud. I loved my family more than anything and studying in California away from my parents had been hard. My decision to return to Boston had been made purely to be close to them, my relationship with Tanya hadn't even been a factor.

I was still looking at the photographs when my dad joined me. "Everything okay?" he asked and closed the door.

"I just wanted to talk. Do you have some time?"

"For you, of course. What's up?" He gestured for me to sit, and he sat opposite me behind his desk.

"Personal crisis… well crises actually." I pulled a face as I spoke.

"Doesn't sound good." He chuckled.

"Tanya."

"Ah." He smiled sympathetically.

"So," I began to say and drummed my fingers on the arm of the chair, "She's planning our engagement party on the 24th. She's bought the cake and even prepared the announcement for the herald."

"Your... um... your engagement party?" he spluttered and I had to smirk. "Oh well, then congratulations, Son. I didn't realize you'd popped the question."

I laughed once, coldly. "That's the thing, I haven't."

"Tanya proposed?" he asked, his eyes widenening.

"Nope." I shook my head.

"Oh, so you... she's… you're… I'm not sure… I'm lost."

"Me too." I sighed and picked up a picture of him and my mother on their wedding day. "I love this picture."

"Best day of my life," he said softyl. "Until you were born anyway."

"We're not like you and Mom," I told him sadly. "Tanya and me I mean. I'm not… I don't want… I don't even have a ring, Dad, and I won't be getting one."

"But she thinks you are?" he said and I nodded.

"I have no idea why." I held up my hands in frustration. "I mean nothing's changed well I've changed, but not in the way she thinks. Since I came home it's like she's a totaly different person, Dad. Maybe she was different before, but we hardly saw each other so I didn't see it... have you noticed?" I looked to him desperately and the look on his face told me he'd definitely noticed.

"The more successful she got, the less like the old Tanya she seemed to be." He seemed apprehrensive about telling me this. "But then again, you're not the same Edward who left for California either."

"Is that a good or bad different?" I asked nervously.

"Definitely good. You're a man now, son and your mother and I are so proud of you." He smiled. "Not everyone can make a long distance relationship work, maybe it's taking some time to adjust to seeing each other more?"

"I don't think that's what it is, Dad." I sighed dejectedly. "I've actually been considering ending things and I was going to do it the other night at dinner, but then I had to dress as Santa for the kids and I kissed the bearded elf and-"

"I'm sorry, what?" Dad laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I need to explain that." I smiled. "We had Santa come and hand out presents to the kids on the ward, but he was drunk and I ended up having to dress up. There was this elf and I sort of ended up kissing it… him… I mean her."

"You're sure?" he joked. "Christmas elves are typically male."

"Oh, I'm sure," I said pointedly and then groaned. "How could I do that? I'm with Tanya and I kissed someone else... I'm such a terrible person and then now there's Bella… shit."

"And Bella would be?" Dad seemed to be amused. "Edward, I think this sounds like something Oprah needs to straighten out."

_Oh yeah, he's really enjoying this._

"Bella would be Tanya's assistant and she's amazing. I like her, Dad… I _really _like her. But then there's Tanya and the…"

"Bearded elf?" Dad chuckled. "If you were anybody else's son, I'd be insisting upon a drugs test."

"It's crazy, I know." I smiled sadly. "I have no idea what to do."

"Forget the elf and forget Bella for just a second and focus on Tanya." He leaned over the table. "Do you love her?"

"I don't know. I mean I did… once, but now I'm not sure." I put my head in my hands and then added with complete honesty, "No. I don't love her, Dad, not anymore and if I'm honest I haven't for a while, coming home made me realize that."

"Then you need to tell her. Whatever her faults, she deserves to know the truth." He waited a second before continuing, "After you've dealt with Tanya, you can focus on Bella and the bearded elf."

"But it's almost Christmas. Do you think I should do that to Tanya, now?" I asked doubtfully. "Surely that's cruel?"

"So, wait until after the holidays," he said casually. "Have fun at your engagement party."

"Okay, okay, ending it now is better." I blew out my cheeks. "She'll kill me or castrate me."

"I fear you may be right about that." He was definitely finding this amusing. "Any other fatherly advice you need? For the record I'd prefer it if you left out any other instances of _Elfphilia_."

"You just made that shit up and it was low," I muttered and he laughed.

"So, Tanya's assistant... she doesn't have any concerning preferences does she?"

"You tell me," I said and he frowned. "You've known Bella for years. She comes in and sits with patients in your unit."

"Your Bella is Bella Swan?" he asked and I nodded. "I can see why you'd like her so much. She's really special, everyone around here loves her. What she does for those patients who have no one else never ceases to amaze me."

"She told me about her dad and what you did." I smiled and he looked regretful.

"When he died I almost talked to your mother about bringing her home with us, you'd left for college and we'd always wanted another child. Something about her struck a chord with me and I wanted to make sure she was really okay... but then she found Alice and the Hale's and things turned out well for her, all things considered." He laughed softly. "This conversation would have been very different had that actually happened."

"As much as I always wanted a brother or sister, I'm actually glad you didn't bring her home. _Elfphilia _would have been the least of your concerns." I grinned.

Not only had I found a girl who was beauitful, funny, and totaly selfless, I'd also found a girl my dad loved almost like a daughter. I'd never been a big believer in fate, but I was having a hard time explaining this situation.

"So, there are no skeletons in her closet that I need to know about?" I asked weakly. "You haven't caught her stealing drugs or money from the patients? She's not trying to steal their identities to feed her drug habit?"

"No." Dad laughed again. "I'm afraid not. Sorry to complicate things for you even more, Edward. Bella might not be your bearded elf, but she's definitely one of a kind."

"I think I've figured that out for myself." I sighed. "I guess I should get back… I don't suppose she's…"

"Not today. I think she'll be here tomorrow night to dress the tree if you want to visit _me_ again then." He winked.

"I might just to that."

_Tomorrow_.

* * *

**More to come tomorrow!**

**Thanks for your wonderful reviews, I love reading them but suck badly at replying, sorry!**

**Hugs**

**xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading! I'm suffering... apparently we drank the free bar all out of Vodka, Gin & Rum! Just a little one for today...**

**Day 8**

**Bella…**

"Oh thank God for that," Alice breathed in relief. "You were starting to freak me out being all hot for Santa."

I'd just finished explaining that Edward was Santa and also Tanya's boyfriend and also Dr. C's son. She'd been away on a mini-break with Jasper for the past few days so we hadn't seen each other since the morning after the incident in the janitor's close and she had a lot to catch up on.

"And why can't you tell Edward that you're the elf?" she asked.

"Because his girlfriend is Tanya and if Tanya finds out I'm fired," I whined. "I can't lose this job."

"But why would he tell her?" She scoffed, "He can't be that into her if he kisses elves in closets and asks her assistants out for lunch."

"He was kist being nice after I hurt my nose, Alice," I argued, allbeit weekly. "And I don't know if or why he might tell her about the kiss, but what if he brought it up in argument or something? I'd be out of a job so fast and anyway I was half naked in a closet making out with him. He probably thinks I'm some dirty tramp." I yawned and laid my head on the table. "I can't do this now, I'm so tired."

"Then sleep," she said to me but I shook my head.

"I have to go to the hospital."

"You don't _have_ to go, Bella," Alice reminded me. "Or are you just hoping to accidentally run into Edward? Maybe you could get the kid to injure you again?"

"That's not funny," I said and instinctively reached up to touch my still tender face. "It hurt like hell, the little shit."

"Aren't you just the warm, caring soul?" She giggled.

"You'd be exactly the same if you'd had him tormenting the crap out of you that first night and then tried to break your nose. I think he was raised by wolves."

"Look at the bright side, because he was being a little shit, you got to play Doctor with Edward."

I ignored her, it seemed like every conversation I had ended up back with him. "I'm going to go to see Mrs. Cope now. Her tree should have arrived this afternoon and I want to go and decorate it."

"No, I want to help but I can't tonight. Please wait until tomorrow, Bella." Alice pouted and turned on the sad eyes. "We'll take Christmas music and wear festive sweaters. Please?"

"Fine, I'll wait until tomorrow," I said, pleased she was helping. I always started out full of enthusiasm but after twenty minutes fussing over decorations I usually lost interest.

"Hey, we could ask Rose to use those costumes again if you like?"

"I don't think so." I giggled. "I think I got myself into enough trouble the last time."

"Only you, Bella, could still manage to seduce a guy in a very unflattering elf costume." She grinned. "Just tell me one thing… on a scale of one to ten, how cute are we talking?"

"A hundred," I said wistfully. "He's beautiful—inside and out."

"Then why aren't you fighting for him?" she asked.

"Because right now he's not mine to fight for, Alice."

* * *

**More to come tomorrow!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading, pimping, and reviewing!**

**I own nothing, except for amy errors... I was falling asleep as I edited/reread through this. You have been warned!**

**Day 9**

**Bella…**

Just as she said, the next day Alice helped me carry the boxes of decorations to the hospital. We hung lights and dressed the little tree in Mrs. Cope's room and Alice sang and danced around the room in a ridiculous Rudolph sweater and a flashing Santa hat.

Mrs. Cope didn't say anything, the stroke had left her paralysed down her right side and unable to speak, but one side of her mouth turned up slightly and it made both of us feel incredibly happy. When we'd finished the room, Alice insisted on doing Mrs. Cope's nails to match and while she did that I read to her.

"Red is very you, Mrs. Cope," Alice said admiring her work. "You'll be the most festive patient in here."

"Bella?" I looked around and saw Edward standing in the doorway, lingering like he wasn't sure he even wanted to be there. "Can I?"

"Sure," I said and he came into the room.

"I stopped by to see you yesterday, but you must have taken the night off." He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, and shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Oh, yeah we had a night at home yesterday. Did you want me for something in particular?" I asked him but he shook his head.

"Nothing major. I just wanted to check out the tree." He grinned. "It looks good."

"I have Alice to thank for that, I'm awful with anything like this." I smiled. "Edward, this is Alice, my roommate. Alice, this is Edward. Dr. C's son and Tanya's boyfriend."

"Hi, Edward," she said and gave me a discreet thumbs up when he wasn't looking.

"I'm sorry," he said frowning at my friend. "Have we met before?"

"Well actually-"

"Alice knows Rose too," I said, cutting her off sharply. "And she's here a lot with me, so that's probably why she looks so familiar." I saw Alice roll her eyes, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Mm, yeah, probably." He nodded and turned his attention back to me. "I was going to see if you wanted to get a coffee or something to eat? Dad said you'd been busy."

"Maybe another time," I said and saw his face fall slightly. "I've just started reading to her."

"I'll stay and read to her," Alice said and handed me my coat. "We'll have some fun, right, Mrs. Cope?"

"Um… okay then, I guess that's… yeah." I thought it was a bad idea but I also loved Edward's company and therein was the trouble.

"You'll make sure she gets home safe, right, Edward?" Alice asked sweetly and I cringed at how obvious she sounded.

"Of course." Edward smiled and looked at me. "Shall we go?"

He took me to a small coffee shop and as soon as we sat down my phone rang. "Should I be scared?" I asked him showing him the caller I.D. "Did you do anything to piss her off tonight?"

"Honestly, no, we haven't seen each other for a day or two. I've been working a lot, Bella." He shrugged. "If she throws a Tanyatrum, it's not my doing."

"It better not be your doing," I muttered and then answered in my politest voice, "Hi, Miss. Denali. Is everything okay?"

"Finally you answered." Tanya sighed impatiently.

"I'm sorry-"

"Yes, yes, whatever. Look, I'm spending the night at the spa, but I'll be home first thing in the morning. You need to make sure my breakfast is delivered for seven thirty. I want wheat toast, no butter with a poached egg white, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Make sure there's no pulp—I detest pulp." She sounded pissed off. "And check my messages at home… I was expecting Eddie to call but once again he appears to have vanished without a trace. This is all very exhausting."

"Breakfast and check for _Eddie's_ message." I emphasised _Eddie_ for his benefit and he laughed quietly.

"I need you to call Didiyme as a matter of urgency. You'll find the number in my rolodex. I have to know when my order will be ready and tell them the sooner the better. It's imperative they finish it promptly."

"Is she on eastern time?" I asked and she huffed in frsutration.

"Didiyme is a _company _based in Milan for goodness sake, so make sure you call them at nine sharp—their time. Really, Isabella, do you live underneath a rock?"

I ignored her jibe and fished out the pen and paper I always carried with me. I scribbled down her instructions and saw Edward reading them with an unimpressed look on his face. His brow furrowed and he shook his head.

"Seriously?" he mouthed, pointing to the breakfast order.

"I think that's it for now. I'll call if I need anything else, so make sure you answer your phone." She hung up without a thanks or goodbye.

"I should go and take care of this." I pointed to the list feeling deflated already. "It would seem I have a call to make at four in the morning and breakfast to arrange."

"No, Bella." He snatched the list out of my hand. "Maybe I should talk to her about this. It really is outrageous for her to drop all of these demands on you when you're not even at work. I don't recognize her anymore. You don't get to leave until you've finished your coffee and I'm holding your list to ransom until then."

"I have it memorised," I said flippantly. "You can tear it up for all I care."

"Really?" He started to screw the note up and I waved furiously for him to stop. He chuckled. "You care."

"I wish I didn't," I admitted. "I really wish I didn't."

* * *

**More to come tomorrow.**

**TTFN**


	10. Chapter 10

**Great big thanks here to Alice De Nola and her help with the Italian translation and of course to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help!**

**Posting from my phone so forgive any errors.**

**Day 10**

**Bella…**

I made the four am call to Italy as Tanya had requested and within the first thirty seconds I realised this was going to take a while.

"Non parlo Inglese," The lady who answered said and I groaned.

"Um… what?"

"No talking Engerlish," she tried again.

"Oh… crap… um… Denali?"

"Si, si! Tanya Denali. Si."

"Yes!" I said exuberantly. "Her order?"

"Orrrderre?"

"Just hold on while I…" I grabbed my IPad and opened the translate app. "I'll be right with you."

"Non capisco," she continued to babble. "Cosa stai dicendo?"

"Okay, okay, here I go…" I tried to read the translation on screen and hoped it was right. _When will Miss. Denali's order be ready? _"Quando sara consegnato l'ordine della signorina Denali?"

"Si, si, due giorni."

"Um… could you say that again… slower this time."

"Non capisco," she said again.

"Due? Two, right?"

"Two, si."

"Two days?"

"Si.. days… giorni."

"Okay, phew, so it's ready in two days." I typed in my next question. _When will it be delivered? _"Um… Quando sara consegnato?"

"Sara consegnato il quindici," she said and I almost cried.

"Huh? What?" I was too tired and too annoyed to be dealing with this. "Quindici?"

"Si, quindici."

"Quin… is that five?"

"No… five… five-teen."

"Fiveteen… um… the fifteenth?"

"Si, si!"

"So it's ready in two days… due giorni and you'll deliver on the Quin… something. The fifteenth?"

"Ah! Si!"

"Oh thank god that's over." I sighed in relief. "Grazie."

"Grazie, ciao!"

I decided that at no point in the near future would I add leaning another language to my bucket list.

I was more than proud of my achievement but, Tanya, however didn't share my enthusiasm. She just whined that taking another two days to finish could have implications on the timely delivery of the order and she suggested I become more fluent in Italian before the next phone call. I almost spat in her orange juice for that.

Miss. Never Satisified was also late getting back from the spa so of course her food was cold and naturally that was my fault. "I can't eat cold food and there's pulp in my juice," she said, utterly exasperated. "It's just not acceptable, Isabella." She pushed the plate away and asked for a mineral water instead.

"You asked for it at seven-thirty," I told her, trying to remain calm. "It was delivered at seven twenty-eight. You didn't arrive until eight-fifteen, Miss. Denali and I can't see any pulp. I was quite specific about that when I placed the order."

"I don't want to hear excuses, Isabella, they bore me. I have a photo shoot this afternoon and dinner with Eddie later. Hopefully he'll turn up this time. I don't know what's going on with him lately. He doesn't return my calls, and he never wants to see me." She studied her nails. "I have the perfect polish to compliment a diamond. I expect he's trying to throw me off the scent and is really planning the elaborate spectacle as we speak."

_That's what you think. _I smiled to myself and cleared away her untouched breakfast.

Edward had monopolised my company for considerably more than one coffee last night, it turned into three drinks and a slice of cake. He drove me home and we chatted for almost two hours outside my door in the freezing cold. I thought inviting him was overstepping the mark and I also knew I was much more likely to pounce on the guy if he was anywhere near my bedroom.

It had been close to midnight when I finally got into bed but being tired was worth it. The release I got in his company was inexplicable. I literally had no care in the world when I was with him and as wrong as it was I craved his company.

I even planned on telling him I was the elf, but I just needed Alice's help with the exact words.

The bad start to the day didn't improve. Tanya had me here, there and everywhere all day and I didn't get home until almost seven. Alice was out with Jasper and I wasn't in the mood to be alone, so I headed over to the hospital.

Mrs. Cope was asleep, but I decided to read to her anyway. I think I was enjoying _Little Women _more than she was. I started to read but almost immediately my eyes started drooping. I shook my head to try and wake myself up and resumed reading. The next thing I knew, it was almost six the next morning and I had a grey comforter around my shoulders.

"Sleep well?" Dr. C laughed. "The nurses said you've been here all night."

"It was a long day yesterday, Dr. C." I stretched out my arms. "Really long day."

"Then I'm forbidding you to come anywhere near the hospital over the weekend," Dr. C said firmly. "Under no circumstances."

"Come on, Dr. C. I'm the only single one, I'd only be stuck at home all night watching movies and eating thousands of calories in ice cream," I joked and held up the book. "Besides, Mrs. Cope and I are getting to the good part."

"Then I'll come and read to her. I'm serious, Bella. It's a wonderful thing that you do to help these people, but you need a break too." He refused to budge and waited until I gave a somewhat edited version of the doctor's oath and swore I wouldn't come back until Monday at the earliest.

These Cullen men really were pushy.

**More to come tomorrow! How's the Tanya hate? Have a little patience with me, pretty please?**

**xxxx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading!**

**Day 11**

**Bella…**

Although technically I didn't work weekends, inevitably I always ended up taking a call from Tanya with an _emergency. _This weekend however, I really was going to have to myself. Tanya was working in New York on a fashion show and Jessica had been chosen to go with her.

I spent the morning lazing around in my pyjamas reading. Alice was at work, my phone didn't constantly ring and I loved the peace and quiet. After lunch I decided to make the day somewhat productive and headed out to do some gift shopping.

After about an hour I wished I'd just given Alice the money and told her to go nuts because my feet were killing and I was on the verge of homicide amidst all the people rushing around and barging into me.

Alice had a date with Jasper and I wasn't going to play third wheel over at Rosalie and Emmett's place, so I decided to have a few minutes with Mrs. Cope. I presumed that as it was almost seven on a Saturday evening, there was no way Dr. C was still working so I'd be able to slip in and out without him ever knowing.

"You better not have been going in there." Edward stepped in front of me as I loitered on the sidewalk outside the hospital. "You are totally busted."

"So you're in on it, too?" I accused and he laughed.

"I heard about your weekend ban, but I had nothing to do with it. I've just finished my shift and saw you hanging around." He gestured to a set of pale green scrubs underneath his coat and I had a slightly different fantasy about the two of us in the janitor's closet. "What have you been doing?"

"Shopping." I held up the bags in my hand. "I wish I'd stayed at home. My feet are throbbing, I'm black and blue from the crazy shoppers, and so hungry I could eat a cow."

"Let's go then." He grinned.

"Go where?"

"I'm not letting you go in there," he pointed to the hospital, "And you said you were hungry enough to eat a cow, so that's what we're going to do."

"We're going to eat a cow?" I asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." He chuckled and reached for my bags. "You should make the most of this time to yourself."

"Is it still time to myself if you're demanding I eat dinner with you?" I joked and he laughed. "Don't you have plans?"

"Not tonight." He shrugged. "Tanya's working in New York, a fashion show or something."

"She had me confirm the car service to take her and Jessica yesterday." I grinned. "I was delighted I missed out on that trip. She has poor Jessica to run around after her all day and night and my phone stays silent."

"And mine," he said with a smirk.

We walked to an old brownstone building on Commonwealth Avenue and I followed him down the stairs to a little basement cafe called _Roast Beast_. It was very small and the only seating was at the counter-top where you could watch them prepare the food. When I saw some of the photos on the wall of old customers I understood Edward's comment about the cow.

"I was more than happy to have a burger, Edward," I whispered. "For me, a burger classes as fine dining."

"I simply won't allow that." He shook his head once. "Let me show you what fine dining really is."

"Should I be scared?" I asked, but he just laughed.

When the server came over she recognised him straight away. "Hey, Dr. Cullen, what will it be today?"

"You know exactly what I want," he said happily. "And the same for Bella."

"What are you bringing me?" I asked and the waitress laughed.

"Don't tell her," Edward teased, nudging me playfully. "I think it should be a surprise, don't you?"

"Now I'm really scared." I said to her, "Can't you give me a hint?"

"All I'm saying, honey, is I hope you're really hungry." She winked.

"It is going to be a whole cow, isn't it?" I joked.

"Almost." He laughed and shifted his seat so he was almost facing me and he rested one arm on the back of the chair, his fingertips close to my arm.

I could see a guy toasting two absolutely huge rolls behind the counter and I hoped one of them wasn't for me. Just a few minutes later I realized my eyes almost popped out of my head when they were set on the bar in front of me.

"Two mega roast beef on onion roll, salad, grilled onions, cheese, secret beast sauce and mayo." The woman laughed again when she saw my expression. "If you eat it, you get a free t-shirt and your picture goes up on our wall of fame."

"I can't eat all of that." I looked over to Edward who was grinning widely. "Can you eat all of that?"

"Yup." He took a huge bite.

"He's already on the wall." The server pointed to a photo of Edward with a smug smile on his face. To my intense surprise, the photo beside Edward was Dr. C.

"Dr. C ate one of these?" I giggled and Edward nodded, his mouth still full of sandwich. I took one last daunting look at mine and said, "Well, here I go."

At about two-thirds of the way through I felt like I was going to burst. "Does it count if I take it home and finish it later?" I asked hopefully, but the staff told me no.

I was feeling competitive and determined all thanks to one Dr. Cullen. Edward had eaten his in about five minutes and was now waiting for me; convinced there was no way I could eat it all.

"Just admit defeat, Bella," he teased and I groaned.

"My stomach hurts but I want to wipe that winning smile off your face, Doctor." I picked up the sandwich and took a pathetically small bite.

"Can I confess something," he said softly and I nodded, chewing slowly. "I can't do anything but smile when I'm with you, Bella."

I was relieved to have my mouth full of food at that point, because in any other normal situation, I'd probably have kissed him and there was no way I was going down that road… well, not again. Not that the first time counted, he was dressed up as Santa and we didn't exactly formally introduce ourselves.

I may not have said anything, but the blush that spread across my cheeks told him enough. He raised one hand and softly ran his thumb over my cheekbone.

"Is it wrong that I'm pleased you can't say anything right now?" he whispered.

I shook my head and he moved his hand with a sigh. We were both thinking the same thing and it had nothing to do with finishing a sandwich.

_Tanya._

* * *

**The **_**Roast Beast**_** is a real place in Boston and I want to go! Don't suppose any of you have been? I'd love to know if it's as good as it sounds.**

**Anyway, more to come tomorrow!**

**Katy**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading!**

**Day 12 **

Edward…

For almost a week I'd been trying to make some time to see Tanya and have the talk. We'd been out to dinner twice, but on both occasions she'd invited other couples to join us and as much as I wanted to end it, I wasn't going to be the guy who dumped her in front of friends.

Then she told me she was working in New York for an entire weekend, and once again we were left in some sort of limbo. We'd drifted apart, I knew it and I failed to see how she could think this relationship was working. The aloofness and distance she was putting between us was more of a tactic to force me into proposing, but all it did was reinforce the feelings I had that we just didn't work together anymore.

I'd been stupidly happy to see Bella outside the hospital and enforcing my dad's plan to keep her from the hospital had nothing to do with my insistence on taking her to dinner. I never tired of her company and even though it was an unbelievably messy situation I couldn't bring myself to stay away.

As for the bearded elf, I'd made the decision to leave that well and truly alone. It was complicated enough with Bella and Tanya so adding another factor to the equation was a bad idea. I told myself it was simply an amazing kiss and that was all. I had no idea what the elf was even like and all I was doing in lusting after her, was creating a girl in my head that likely didn't even exist.

"Home for Christmas, really?" Embry's mom asked and I smiled.

"At this rate I think we'll have him out of here by the 23rd." I winked at Embry who was grinning from ear to ear. "The nurses are going to be delighted."

"I need to cram in a lot of bad behaviour I guess," he said with a cheeky glint in his eye. "My Christmas present to them."

"Just make sure you do it when I'm not around, Embry, okay?" I chuckled.

"Sure, Doc."

I was going to miss the kid who everyone else was about ready to lock in the janitor's closet with a gag and a strait jacket.

_Janitor's closet…_

I set down Embry's chart and continued on my rounds, disgruntled that the elf had wormed her way back into my head again. I forced myself to forget about all women and concentrate solely on work. It lasted about five minutes before I heard a nurse telling an out-of-town doctor that he needed to eat at _Roast Beast_. After that I couldn't think about anything else but Bella.

After a twelve hour shift, a semi-date with Bella and then just four hours sleep before another twelve hour shift, I was exhausted but instead of going home to sleep, I went to see Mom and Dad. They'd lived in the same house on Marlborough Street since before I was born and I probably spent more time there than I did at my place.

"Edward?" My mother Esme, gave me a hug and immediately started fussing over how tired I looked. "Shall I make you something to eat?"

I grinned and she laughed. "Pancakes?"

"No one makes them quite like you," I told her and followed her to the kitchen.

"How's Tanya?" she asked gingerly and I smiled.

"Dad told you, huh?"

"He did." She smiled sheepishly. "What are you going to do?"

"End it," I said matter-of-factly. "We're so different, Mom. I think living apart all this time blinded me a little, but since I've been back I just… I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with her. I know it's cruel to do it now, so close to Christmas but it's either that or I go to my own engagement party."

"She's definitely not afraid to go after what she wants." Mom seemed to find this as amusing as Dad. "Have you considered what protection you're going to need when you tell her?"

"Very funny," I muttered. "Everyone seems to find this situation amusing except me. Bella's preparing my obituary and you're laughing about it."

"He told me about Bella, too," she said absently and then burst out laughing. "And the bearded elf."

"I came here to talk to my loving, kind parents. Have you seen them anywhere?" I grumbled and she ruffled my hair.

"Sorry, sweetheart." She poured us both a drink of juice. "Here. No pulp."

"No pulp." I smiled to myself, thinking of Tanya's ridiculous breakfast order. "I think Bella could have done with this the other day."

"Oh?" I watched as she poured the batter into the pan. "Does she not like pulp?"

"I suspect not, but more to do with her very demanding employer than her own preference." I laughed to myself and saw Mom giving me a strange look. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and returned her attention to the pancakes.

"I know I'm making a big mess with Tanya and Bella… even the elf." I saw her smile again. "I'll make things right soon, Mom."

"You can't help who you fall in love with," she told me and I almost choked.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mom," I said. "I only kissed her, in a dark closet, while her face was covered with a wiry, ginger beard I hardly think that can be classed as love."

"I was talking about, Bella." She rolled her eyes. "The girl who makes you smile like the cat that got the cream—over and over and over."

"That doesn't mean… Sure, Bella's great, really great but I can't love her… nothing's happened… I mean… no." I shook my head furiously. "It can't be… no… definitely not."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself there, Edward?" She put a plate full of delicious pancakes in front of me, but suddenly I'd lost my appetite.

Did I? Already? No. "What about the elf?" I blurted out.

"What about her?"

"Surely if I was in love with Bella, I wouldn't be thinking about a kiss with someone who wasn't Bella. I try to tell myself to forget it but I can't." With a disgruntled sigh I stabbed at the pancakes and shoved a forkful into my mouth.

"Can you not find the elf?" she asked and I shook my head. "Find out who hired her and see if you can meet her… as a human."

"Rose!" I said, my mouthful of pancakes and Mom grimaced.

"How can such a handsome and intelligent man still have the table manners of a farmyard animal?"

"Sorry," I said sheepishly.

"Who's Rose?" she asked. "Don't tell me there's another girl."

"No, I work with Rose. She organised everything. I'll just ask her." A thought occurred to me and I frowned.

"What?"

"Rose is Bella's friend." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Say you're right and Bella could be a girl I… you know… feel something for… what if she finds out that I was sniffing around someone else trying to decide who I preferred?"

"I can't tell you what to do, Edward. Only you know what feels right."

"That's the thing though, Mom, _both_ feel right." I dropped my head, shaking it in frustration.

"Hey," she whispered, forcing me to look up at her. "You'll work it out, just have a little faith."

"I need more than faith, Mom. I need a neon-fucking sign."

"Language, Edward," she scolded.

"Sorry, Mom."

_A really big fucking neon sign._

* * *

**More to come tomorrow... we're almost half way through!**

**Thanks for your incredible reviews and all the pimping. ILY hard!**

**xoxoxo**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading!**

**Day 13**

**Bella…**

"So you and Dr. Cullen got down and dirty in a closet on my ward?" Rose asked, screwing her nose up. "Ew."

"We didn't get _down and dirty,"_ I told her giving my friend a dirty look.

"No, his girlfriend put an end to that." Alice giggle and I turned the bitch brow on her.

"And now you're all hung up on him even though his girlfriend is also your employer?"

"Yep."

"And he has no idea that you're the elf?"

"Nope."

"Jesus, Bella, you don't like things easy, huh?" Rose laughed. "And why aren't we telling Edward you're the Elf?"

"I was going to… but then I chickened out. Don't you think it's gone on a little _too_ long now?" I asked nervously chewing on my fingernail. "_So, Edward, we've been hanging out for like a week now, and by the way it was me who you made out with in the closet?_ Yeah, that doesn't make me look lame at all."

"So maybe you could drop subtle hints instead?" Alice suggested, pulling my hand from my mouth. "I just painted your nails."

We were having a girly night together. We'd been drinking margaritas, stuffing our faces with chocolate and were currently all snuggled under a huge comforter watching Christmas movies.

"I could always help?" Rose offered but I shook my head.

"No way!" I laughed. "You don't do subtle, Rose. Besides, it's all just too complicated; whatever happened between us doesn't matter because he is _still_ with Tanya."

"So if he wasn't with Tanya, you'd tell him?"

"Maybe." I nodded. "But he _is_ with Tanya so it's a moot point."

"Why are you working for her anyway? You need to show that portfolio to someone, Bella. Do something that you'd enjoy."

"Nah," I said despondently. "I don't stand a chance."

"How do you know if you don't try?" Alice asked softly.

"Why do I get the distinct impression you aren't simply talking about my career right now?"

She gave me an innocent smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure."

My phone started to ring and I fought off Rose's attempts to hide it, answering it as quickly as I could. "Hello, Miss. Denali."

"I'm just about to board a flight back to Boston. I need you to go and put the heat on in my apartment and tell Eddie to meet me for dinner tomorrow night, please."

"I… um… don't have his number," I said weakly. "Maybe you should call him."

"Like I haven't tried?" she whined. "I'll email you his address and you can call at his place and tell him in person. I'm far too exhausted I refuse to allow him to see me like this."

"It's late, Miss. Denali," I said, desperate to avoid this particular task. "Almost one in the morning… won't he be sleeping?"

"I'm his fiancée," she said.

"Oh, congratulations I didn't know he'd…" I suddenly felt physically sick.

"Well he hasn't, not yet, but we both know it's imminent. Explain to him I have something important to talk to him about and either he calls me as soon as I land or he meets me for dinner." She yawned down the phone. "Make sure my apartment is warm, Bella. I detest returning to a cold home."

"Okay, Miss. Denali," I mumbled reluctantly. "I'll go and talk to him."

When I hung up, Alice and Rose were shaking their heads at me. "You aren't leaving this apartment. It's Sunday night, Bella." Rose tried to stop me putting on my coat.

"It's my job, guys. Leave it please." I didn't bother to take off my pyjamas. I'd had too much to drink to care about my appearance.

"You're hammered, Bella," Alice said to me. "And it's late."

"I'll be there and back in an hour." I pulled my hat down over my ears and put on my boots. "Make some more Margarita and we'll continue this little party when I get back."

I took a cab to Tanya's apartment first and asked him to wait while I ran inside. I was starting to feel the effects of the margarita and I struggled to work the remote to turn on the heat. Eventually I figured it out and I cheered loudly.

"You're the man, Bella!"

I made sure the lights were on in the lounge and her bedroom, having a little snoop around as I did. I looked at her immense shoe collection and wondered if she'd notice if I took a pair home with me. I decided against theft and just as I was leaving her room, I saw a slip of paper poking out of her jewellery box. I had a quick look and saw it was a receipt from Didyme for 100,000 euros, I was too drunk to do the conversion but I knew it was a shed load of money. All the receipt stated was bespoke item and I hoped I'd remember this enough in the morning to Google the company and see what business they were in. I put the receipt back where I found out it and headed to the cab.

"I'll be right back," I said to the driver when we pulled up outside Edward's house. "Please wait."

"You pay for what I've done so far and then I give you five minutes," he said to me. "If you ain't back in five minutes I'm outta here."

"I'll be back in three."

I expected Edward's apartment to be in a building like Tanya's. I knew his parents had money, Tanya loved to tell anyone who'd listen how wealthy the in-laws were, but Edward lived in a house in a quieter, less affluent part of the city and from the outside it looked like he was in the middle of renovating.

I rang the bell twice and was just about to turn around and leave when the light came on and the door swung open to reveal Edward in a pair of sweatpants and not much else.

"Bella?"

"Hi." I held up my and waved trying to ignore the fact he was shirtless. "I'm sorry to call so late, but Tanya needed me to get a message to you. Apparently you aren't answering your phone?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm trying a new screening process. Come inside."

"I have a cab waiting," I told him, pointing to the cab driver who was having a smoke out on the sidewalk.

"Hey, buddy," Edward yelled. "You can take off."

"Edward," I started to say, but he just grabbed a handful of my coat and pulled me through the door.

"So what's the message?" He took me to a large room which had a couch, television, and a bed in the far corner.

"Nice décor." I pulled a face and he laughed.

"The house needed completely redecorating, so I'm living in this room while I get it all finished." He grabbed a sweater from the back of the couch and pulled it over his head. "I can take your coat."

"Sure," I started to open it and then remembered what I was wearing. "Actually, you know what, I'm a little chilly I'll just keep it on."

He cocked his head and I saw him look down at my legs and feet. "What are you wearing?" He was gesturing to my tartan flannel pants which were far too bright to be regular pants.

"My pyjamas," I muttered and opened my coat to reveal the matching shirt. "The girls and I were having a slumber party when Tanya called. I assumed I'd be in and out of here quickly, so didn't bother to change."

He chuckled. "I've seen them now; you may as well give me your coat."

"I really need to go. So, the message…"

"Not now." He shook his head and held out his hands for my coat. I watched him lay it over the table by the door and then came back to sit down. I stood there nervously and he patted the couch. "Sit, Bella. You look hammered."

"I'm not," I argued.

"Please, Bella." He laughed. "You smell like Vodka and you have this weird smile on your face. "Sit down."

"Does Vodka even have a smell?" I asked, sitting as far away as I could from him. "It barely even has a taste."

"Do I smell?" I saw him sniff himself.

"What?"

"I was just wondered if I smelled bad." He smirked and I frowned. "You're practically falling off the edge of the couch. Should I take it personally?"

"No," I said, hearing a pathetic whine in my voice. "You don't smell bad… you never smell bad, always good—so fucking good, that's the problem, Edward."

"Smelling good is a problem?"

"Yes," I said and hit the couch with my hands. "If you smelled bad it would be much easier to stay away from you. I was just supposed to make sure the heat was on in her apartment and then come and deliver a message to you."

"What's the message?" he asked softly.

"That your _girlfriend_ wants you to meet her for dinner tomorrow night and if you can't make it then you must call her to reschedule." I looked at him sadly. "Please don't stand her up again, I get yelled at when you stand her up."

"Understood." He nodded. "Now you've delivered the message you can relax."

"Now I've delivered the message, I have to leave." I stood up and made a run for the door.

"Bella, wait," he shouted and blocked my path. "Don't go."

"I have to," I mumbled weakly.

"Why?"

"Because I've had too much to drink and I don't think I can stop myself doing what I _really_ want to be doing right now." I held my breath as he stepped closer to me.

"What do you _really_ want to be doing?" he whispered.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his once, letting them linger to savour as much of his taste as I could.

"That," I said after I pulled away. "Now I really have to leave."

I pushed past him ignoring his yell for me to stop and ran down the steps, only to realise I was coatless. "Crap," I said to myself and turned around.

He was still standing in the doorway.

"I forgot my co-"

He kissed me again, holding my face to stop me pulling back. I went with it for a few seconds, but I was consumed by guilt and I pushed him back as hard as I could.

"Edward, I can't do this," I told him shakily. "Whatever the deal is with you and Tanya, she's still your girlfriend and I'm not _that _girl. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, Bella." His head hung low and this time he didn't try to persuade me to stay. I turned around and walked away again without my coat, but I couldn't go back because there was no way I'd be able to stop him if he did that again.

"This is so fucked up," I said to myself and walked down the sidewalk freezing my ass off until I found a cab to take me home.

* * *

**More to come tomorrow... stick with me? All of you who know me know to trust me, right!?**

**Katy**

**xoxoxo**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for their incredible help and to you guys for reading!**

**Day 14**

**Edward…**

I'd been an absolute dick. After all that crap I'd spewed to my mother about Bella being special, being worth more than Tanya and all the shit she threw at her, I'd put her in the most impossible situation. Then to top it all off, I'd let her walk home alone without her fucking coat.

_Top guy or what?_

All night I'd tossed and turned cursing myself for letting everything get so out of hand. I gave up trying to sleep at six and I decided to ring Tanya and confirm dinner. This was it, I was ending it tonight one way or another. I was going to be working a lot in the run up to Christmas, but being at the hospital and away from the mess that was my personal life was going to give me some time to figure everything out.

"Eddie," Tanya snapped down the phone. "I don't hear from you for days and days, and then you call me at this time in a morning. Really? I only got back to town about two hours ago. Didn't Bella tell you about dinner?"

"Yes, it was really nice of you to send your assistant out in the freezing cold to tell me to arrange dinner," I said harshly. "It was the middle of the night, Tanya."

"That's her job," she argued and I could tell there was no way she'd be convinced otherwise.

"I'll ask Dad if we can use his standing reservations at Sorrellina. I'll pick you up around seven thirty, Tanya. Be ready, there's a lot for us to talk about." I thought my clipped tone would give her a hint things weren't so rosy between us, but apparently she heard something different.

"I have the perfect dress for this occasion," she sang into the phone. "I'll be waiting, Eddie. I can't wait."

I lay back down on the bed and thought about how to try and put things right with Bella. I decided to stop by her place before dinner and take her coat back. I could use that as an excuse to sit her down and tell her what was really going on in my head and why I absolutely didn't think of her as _that_ kind of girl.

With a plan in my head I started to relax and just as my eyes began to grow heavy and I fell asleep. I considered ignoring the door when my doorbell rang a few hours later but then it occurred to me Bella might have come back for her coat and I ran straight to the door.

"Hey, Eddie," Tanya beamed and I tried not to look disappointed. "I'm on my way to the salon for a complete new hairstyle for our date, but I just wanted to stop by and give you this."

I looked down at her hands and aside from her purse there was nothing in them. When I looked back to her face she kissed me. I froze against her mouth, but she didn't seem to notice so I grabbed her arms as gently as I could and pushed her away.

"What's wrong, Eddie?" she asked.

"Can we talk?" I tried to get her to come inside but she shook her head.

"You house is too dusty, Eddie. It aggravates my allergies and I already told you I have an appointment at the salon." She glanced behind me and her face tightened. "You'd get this done so much quicker if you hired contractors to do the work."

"I enjoy it," I told her. "Do we need to have this conversation every time you come here?"

"I don't want to argue with you, Eddie," she said sweetly but I detected an undertone to her voice. "Let's just stay at my place until you get the work finished."

"We need to talk, Tanya," I reminded her. "I think now-"

"Dinner, Eddie, we'll talk then—It will be the perfect place." She patted my cheek and strutted away to a waiting car.

So tonight it was going to be. I shut the door and as I turned I saw Bella's distinctive green coat draped over the small table at the bottom of the stair case. Knowing Tanya was on her way to the salon, I snatched up the coat and decided to take it back to Bella now.

**Bella…**

I had a thumping headache, I felt sick, and I couldn't look Tanya in the eye. Jessica spotted my unusual behaviour, but I did my best to convince her I was just hung over.

Despite the fact I'd been out delivering messages and running errands for her, Tanya still expected me to be at my desk all day to confirm every guest for the party and double-check the menu with the caterer.

"I'll be at the salon until late but I want you here to wait for a delivery, Isabella. Didyme managed to get my order done earlier than planned and it's arriving this afternoon. Eddie's taking me out to dinner this evening and tonight is most definitely going to be the night." She held her hands up. "It's going to be perfect."

"I'm so happy for you," Jessica said and I almost laughed at just how fake she sounded. "You're a lucky girl."

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Tanya said smugly and barked a few more orders in our direction. "Remember, you must wait here for my order."

"Yes, Tanya," I said tiredly.

Just as she was about to go, she stopped and called out, "Jessica, I need you to come with me."

"You do?" Jessica asked, surprised.

"Yes, I'm going to need to arrange a few things in preparation for tonight, so you can take notes and then go and make the necessary arrangements." She clicked her fingers and Jessica scurried after her. "You'll need to cover Jessica's tasks, Isabella."

The door slammed shut and I groaned, "Great, I'll just do everything."

I picked up the list of guests and thumped my head against the desk. "Are you kidding? I can't do this." There were five hundred names on the list and a further twenty five on the reserve list."

"What can't you do?" Edward smiled nervously and I started to panic.

"How did you get in here?" I looked back down at the list and tried to look busy.

"The doorman sent me up and I opened the door… it's really not that complicated." He laughed and walked to the front of my desk. He had my coat in his hand a sad smile on his face. "Can we talk about last night?"

"There really isn't much to say," I said as convincingly as I could. "I was drunk, Edward, I'm really sorry."

"You don't have to apologise, Bella." He dragged Jessica's chair over to my desk. "I should be the one to say sorry. I was an ass last night and you deserve better than that."

"It's no big deal, Edward. It was just a stupid kiss and it didn't mean anything. Can we pretend it never happened?"

"That's what you want?" he asked doubtfully and I nodded.

"Yep, absolutely, definitely, yes." I kept nodding and he chuckled.

"Tell you what," he said, reaching over the desk to grab my hands. "How about we don't forget it happened just agree that is shouldn't really happen again for now?"

"I don't-"

"The truth is, Bella, I like spending time with you and I know things are complicated right now, but I'd hate to lose you as a friend because of one kiss." He sounded sincere and I wasn't sure if he was blowing me off putting me on hold.

"Okay, I can live with that." I pointed to my coat. "Thank you for bringing it back."

He laughed. "As much as I liked the sight of your racing down the street in those tartan pyjamas it's probably good for your health to refrain from doing that too often."

"You have no idea how cold I was." I giggled. "I swear my nipples were like weapons… um… sorry, forget I said that." Edward looked a little flustered and his embarrassment made me forget mine.

"Let's go and get some breakfast." He held up my coat.

"I can't. Tanya's expecting a delivery and I'm the lucky one who gets to sit here all afternoon to wait for it. Plus I have five hundred guests to confirm and an ice sculpture to order." I pointed to the wad of papers on my desk and sighed.

"The delivery is coming this afternoon?" he asked, checking his watch and I nodded. "Then we have one hour and forty six minutes until it's the afternoon."

"I'm too busy," I said, pointing again to the endless list of names.

"Give me your pen." He took the list and ticked the first one hundred or so. "That's freed up about an hour so let's go."

"Edward, you can't do that!" I gasped.

"Like she'll even notice who's there." He thrust my coat at me again. "I won't take no for an answer."

"Let's go then but I have to be back here for eleven thirty just to be safe, okay?"

"I promise."

xxxxx

Edward took me for coffee and he did most of the talking. As bad as I felt, I was too concerned with Tanya's delivery and I was constantly checking the time.

"Maybe we should do this another time," he suggested and I smiled apologetically. "I'll walk you back."

"I'll be fine, really. I don't want to have to explain why I was with you if Jessica's back or if anybody else sees us. I'm sorry."

"That's probably for the best," he agreed and we lingered outside the coffee shop awkwardly for a few minutes. "I'm having dinner with Tanya tonight."

"I know. I gave you the message, remember?" I smiled, trying not to remember what else had happened.

"It's not a date, well it is I suppose." He kicked at the floor with his feet, something I'd seen him do whenever he was uncomfortable. "I mean she thinks there's a reason we're going to dinner and I have a completely different reason for going to dinner."

"Okay," I said again, not sure what else I could say.

"So tomorrow," he said like I should know what he was getting at. "Tomorrow…"

"Is Tuesday?" I said but he shook his head. "The fifteenth?"

"No, what I was trying to say is she might not be in the best mood after tonight," he said and I understood.

"So tonight you're going to… oh." I pulled a sympathetic face, but on the inside I was jumping up and down with joy. "Well, thanks for the heads up. I really have to get going, Edward."

"Bella?" he shouted when I got a few feet away. "Can I take you out to dinner?"

"Um…?

He caught back up with me. "I mean I'll have things sorted with Tanya and I'd like to spend time with you without her hanging over our heads, you know?"

"Like a date?"

"Yes, exactly like a date." He grinned.

"Don't you think it's a little quick after? I don't want people to think…"

"Okay, well after tomorrow I've got a run of six straight twelve hour shifts at work. So, what if we said we'd go out to dinner on the 22nd?" He looked really hopeful and I broke out into a huge smile.

"The 22nd sounds great." I felt my cheeks turn blood red and he chuckled.

"I love that." He pulled one of his gloves off and stroked my cheek gently with his fingers. "So, the 22nd?"

"I'm looking forward to it."

I walked as calmly as I could down the street and back to Tanya's apartment. As soon as I stepped through the door all hell broke loose.

"Where in God's name have you been?" Tanya shrieked. She had her hair in rollers and the expression on her face was pretty fucking terrifying. "You were supposed to wait here for my delivery from Italy."

"You said it was coming this afternoon, Tanya," I argued. "I nipped out for my lunch now so I could be back when it got here."

She threw up her arms dramatically. "Well it _got here_ about fifteen minutes ago. I got a call from the courier explaining he was at the delivery address but no one was there. I had to come from the salon looking like this—like _this_!"

"I'm sorry, but you did say this afternoon, Tanya." I checked my watch. "It's barely eleven o'clock."

"That is so not the point," she growled. "I need to get back to the salon now and then I'm getting ready for my dinner with Eddie. We'll talk about this tomorrow, Isabella."

"I am sorry, Tanya," I said again but it fell on deaf ears.

She stormed towards the door and swung it open so hard, I thought it might come off its hinges. "Nice _coat_, by the way," she said icily and then slammed the door behind her.

I looked down and frowned. It was the same coat I'd worn since the weather turned cold and she'd never commented on it before. She'd never said anything nice before. I groaned and sat at my desk, looking at the long list of names in front of me.

"Fuck it," I muttered and did exactly what Edward had done earlier, ticking off every name on the list. "She's getting dumped tonight. I doubt there's even going to be a party."

Suddenly, I was quite looking forward to tomorrow.

* * *

**More to come tomorrow!**

**xoxox**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help.**

**Day 15**

**Bella…**

The next morning I was in a very good mood. I sang in the shower, on the subway, and as I walked into Tanya's apartment at seven-forty five I was almost skipping. There was no sign of her and I assumed she was hiding in her room trying to come up with a story to explain that she wasn't actually engaged and in fact _Eddie_ had dumped her.

I looked on my desk for her usual list of jobs and there wasn't one. Nor, had I received a phone call from her this morning. I couldn't help but smile to myself and even my imminent ass-chewing for yesterday's debacle seemed unimportant.

I was just making fresh coffee when I heard raised voices in her bedroom and I turned around, expecting to see Tanya but seeing someone else instead. Just like that, a fraction of a second and _poof_ my good mood was gone and I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.

Edward came stumbling out of her bedroom with his clothes all crumpled and his hair was in total chaos—it looked like he'd spent the best part of the night with someone's hands running through it. His face was sweaty, but he was considerably paler than usual. Probably because he'd walked straight into me the morning after supposedly dumping Tanya.

"Edward?" I whispered.

"Please, Bella I-" he began to say but then he squeezed his eyes shut tight, clamped his hand over his mouth and ran from the apartment.

"Hi, Isabella," Tanya gushed from behind him, she was wearing a short silk robe and her hair was almost as messy as Edward's. "Can I talk to you in private for just a second?"

"Of course, Tanya," I said keeping my voice as steady as I could. "Would you like me to bring coffee?"

"Ooh yes, I need it after last night." She smiled and I felt physically sick.

I poured her a cup and she took me into her office and closed the door. "Sorry about that—we had a _busy_ night. Anyway, I just wanted to apologise for yesterday, Isabella. I was upset with you for dropping the ball with the delivery, but I suppose it all came good in the end."

"Okay," I said through gritted teeth.

"Eddie and I had such a wonderful time." She smiled. "We talked through all of our problems and well I'm sure you can guess how we resolved them."

"I can imagine," I said.

_If I pick up that paperweight and hit her in the side of her head that should at least knock her out. I can chop her up into little pieces in her ridiculously big bathtub and then…._

"I just wanted you to know there are absolutely no hard feelings and I hope we can move past last night. Also, I should warn you that Eddie's probably going to be spending a lot of his time here. I'm hiring some contractors for him so we can finish the work on his house quickly and he'll need a place to stay." She was being too friendly and if I didn't know any better I'd guess she knew that I'd pretty much fallen in love with her boyfriend… fiancé now I guess.

"So he asked then?" I smiled.

"Actually no… I think he was about to, but then we just got caught up in the throes of passion. I'm seeing him again tonight—the little sweetheart is preparing me a romantic dinner." She stood up and walked to the door. "I'll let you get back to work, Isabella."

"Thanks, Tanya," I said and went back to my desk.

A few minutes later she popped her head back through the door. "Sorry, I completely forgot to ask you something. The housekeeper called in sick and Jessica's picking up some last-minute decorations for the party, I don't suppose you could change the sheets on my bed could you? I don't think I could sleep in them after last night."

_I could burn the pieces of your body in the bed sheets and have a fire dance… _

**Edward…**

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

As soon as I woke up I knew I needed to get the hell out of that apartment and I needed to do it before Bella arrived. Nothing happened, not a fucking thing, but I knew how it would look and of all the people in Boston, I needed Bella to know that _nothing_ had happened and _nothing _could ever happen between Tanya and me again.

We'd gone out to dinner and as soon as I'd tried to talk to her, she'd had to take a call outside. It took twenty minutes for her to return and when she did, we were coincidentally joined by two of her friends. For the next three hours I had to sit there and play nice, and all I wanted to do was leave.

It was in the car that I started to feel unwell. My stomach was churning, I was burning up, and I had the beginnings of a headache, but I was determined tonight was the night. We drove back to her apartment and I once again told her that we needed to talk. She'd made some excuse about needing the bathroom and told me to wait by her bed.

While I waited, I sat down and closed my eyes, trying to fight off the awful feeling of nausea. When I opened my eyes, Tanya was in bed beside me and it was morning. I'd yelled at her for not waking me and then decided to tell her right there, but then the nausea took a turn for the worse and I knew I was going to be sick. I high tailed it from the bedroom only to see Bella staring right back at me, the most gut-wrenching look on her face.

I knew what she'd think and I couldn't blame her. I wanted to talk to her, but Tanya was there and I was feeling worse than I had the previous night. I tried to speak, to apologise, to explain, but last night's dinner was on the verge of making a reappearance and I had to run out of the apartment before I threw up on her.

I just about made it onto the sidewalk and then went home where I spent the next eighteen hours with my head in the toilet.

* * *

**Please, please, please wait until the next chapter before you swear, shout or hunt me down lol I would never **_**ever**_** have let Edward touch the skank I promise! Hope you're still with me! You absolutely can trust me I swear! **

**More to come tomorrow!**

**Katy xoxo**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help and to you wonderful people for sticking with me. I think we've lost a few readers who think I'm purposely dragging it out, but anyone who knows me knows that absolutely isn't the case. This is as angsty as it gets I promise!**

**Day 16 **

**Bella…**

Alice and Rose held an emergency intervention when they heard what happened. They brought ice-cream, wine, and tissues. I tried to tell them it wasn't necessary while tears rolled down my face.

"Just wait until I see that jackass at work," Rose seethed, knocking back more glasses of wine than I was. "I'm going to give him the shifts no one else wants. I can't believe he'd spew all that fucking crap about taking you out to dinner and then go and shove his dick in that whore!"

"Rose," I said, almost laughing at just how enraged she was. _Almost laughing. _"She is his girlfriend and has been for years. He's perfectly entitled to stick it in her whenever he likes. I should have just stayed away."

"No, what you should have done is tell him from the start that you were the elf," Alice said as she wrestled the bottle of wine from Rose so she could pour me a glass. "And you could still do that."

"No she shouldn't," Rose disagreed. "Fuck him, Bella. Let him have the whore and you find someone better than him. So what if he's gorgeous doctor who is wonderful with kids and has a lovely family… he's totally replaceable."

"You think so?" I asked doubtfully.

She thought about that for a minute and then said, "Yeah, maybe telling him you're the elf isn't such a bad idea."

So that was how I came to be standing in his doorway at five o'clock the next morning. Rose told me his shift started at six so I came to spill my guts about everything. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. The second the silhouette appeared in the doorway I took another punch, this time to my heart… Tanya.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, standing there in nothing but one of Edward's shirts. "It's five in the morning, Isabella."

"Um… I needed to see you," I lied. "And you weren't at your apartment so I figured you'd be here."

"You could have called." She yawned.

"My cell is acting up… I can't call anyone."

"What the hell is so important that it couldn't wait until a more reasonable time?" She didn't invite me in, and she kept her body blocking most of the doorway.

"I can't come into work today," I said quickly. "My friend has a family emergency and I'm going with her to sort it out."

"Let's cut the bullshit, Isabella." She glared at me. "Or would you prefer I call you, Bella? That's what Eddie calls you, right?"

"I don't understand," I started to say, but she waved her hand… not waving… showing.

_Oh._

"He asked me to marry him last night," she said smugly, holding her ring finger just a few inches from my face. "So, I suggest you keep your unkempt hands to yourself."

"Tanya, I don't know what you think-"

"I saw your coat here. I knew there was something going on with him, but I never thought you of all people would betray me. How you ever thought you stood a chance with him I have no idea, he's way out of your league." She kept her voice quiet but threatening. "You don't come near him again. You don't want to wrong me, Isabella. I always win."

I wanted to lift my hand and slap her right across her face, but the last thing I needed was her reporting me for assault. Instead I just walked away.

"Don't bother going back to the office, you're fired."

"I'd figured that out for myself and I was quitting anyway you manipulative bitch. I'd rather be out on the streets than work for you." I shook my head. "By the way… the list for the party that I said was confirmed… I didn't ring a single fucking person. Looks like you're going to be busy."

She was still screaming at me when I slammed the door of the cab and drove away.

_**Edward…**_

Once again I woke up with Tanya in close proximity. I could hear her yelling at someone and wandered out of my bathroom totally confused.

"What are you doing here?" I asked coolly and she closed the front door. "Who were you talking to?"

"No one of any importance," she said casually. "And I'm here because you were sick, Eddie. I was taking care of you."

"I was asleep on the bathroom floor, with my feet against the door... I doubt you could even get into the bathroom let alone take care of me," I groaned, my head was pounding. "Look, Tanya, we really need to talk and…" Something shiny and huge on her finger caught my eye. Her _ring _finger. "What the fuck is that?"

"My engagement ring. I got fed up of waiting for you, Eddie." She held up her hand with an excited smile on her face. "This way I get what I want and you don't have to plan the perfect proposal."

"You bought yourself a ring and then just assumed we were engaged?" I asked incredulously. "Tell me you're not serious, Tanya. That is seriously fucked up." I sat on the couch and put my hands over my face.

"I've been waiting for so long, Eddie. That's all I've done since you went to medical school. Waiting, waiting, and more waiting. I've had enough; I want things to move forward." She knelt on the floor between my legs. "Edward Cullen, will you marry me?"

"No, Tanya, I won't," I said quietly. "You and me… it's just not working anymore, how can you not see that? We're two completely different people and you're not the Tanya I used to know."

"Yes I am, Eddie." She grabbed my hands and squeezed them tightly.

"You're not, Tanya, I hardly recognise you." I looked at the ring and laughed. "The old Tanya would have had a bit more dignity than to buy her own fucking engagement ring. Did you ever think I didn't ask because I didn't want to marry you?"

"You can't break up with me," she said, her voice cracking. "You can't."

"Why? Because of the cake you've ordered or the announcement you've prepared?" I still felt ill, shockingly ill and exhausted but I had wrongs to right and it started here. "I know about your plans for the party, Tanya."

"Is that what Isabella told you?" she hissed. "She's a lying little bitch, Eddie. She was just trying to cause trouble and split us up—can't you see that?"

"Cut the crap, Tanya. Bella isn't the guilty one in all of this, I'm the one to blame. I'm the one who's made a big mess." I sighed and pulled my hands from hers and stood up. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore."

"Eddie, no," she said, her voice taking a tone of hysteria. "You can't break up with me. You moved here for me… you… you… were going to propose. These past few weeks… I thought…"

"I was never going to propose, Tanya. These past few weeks I've been trying to get you alone to break up with you." I saw her reach for me so I grabbed her arms and held her at arm's length. "I came home because I missed my family not because I wanted to marry you."

"Why now?" she cried.

"I should have done it a long time ago, but I guess I felt some kind of loyalty to you. I've known you all my life, Tanya, and instead of telling you at the first opportunity, I wanted to do it right. I didn't want to be the guy who humiliated you in front of your friends or dumped you over the phone, I thought I owed you more than that." I shook my head. "But the things you've done... the things we've both done."

"You mean _who_ you've done," she shrieked and it was making my headache worse.

"I never slept with Bella, nothing happened until you sent her over here drunk and even then that was all on me... I pushed her and pushed her. I'll admit I kissed her, Tanya, but despite all the shit you put her through she stiill backed off. She's worth more than a thousand of me and you, Tanya. I'm sorry."

"I can't believe you're doing this to me," she wailed and sank to the floor. "You're dumping me for that little slut?"

"Bella isn't a slut, Tanya." I was trying to be calm and amicable, but she was making it hard to maintain my composure. "You don't know anything about her. Look, I won't be drawn into an argument over Bella. All of this has nothing to do with her and everything to do with us. We're done, Tanya." I felt more and more sick with each passing second and wanted her out of the house.

"What am I supposed to say to everyone?" She looked more horrified at that prospect than at anything else that I'd just told her.

"Tell them whatever the hell you like—make me the asshole if you want but I won't lie to anyone. If they ask me why I'm telling them the truth, we just grew apart and became two entirely different people." I reached for her hand and helped her stand up. "I'm sorry to do this now, but I couldn't stand there at the party and pretend especially knowing what you have planned. Can I call you a cab?"

"You'll regret this," she spat and slapped me hard across the face with the back of her hand. "You won't do better than me, Edward Cullen."

"Yeah, you're a real fucking diamond, Tanya," I hissed as I rubbed my face and she quickly started backtracking.

"I didn't mean to, Eddie, oh my God, I'm sorry," she begged. "Please don't do this, please; I can't let you do this."

"It's already done, Tanya," I told her seriously and strode over to the door. "You can be on your way now."

I watched her grab her purse and storm out of the door, stopping on the sidewalk to shout, "For the record, I doubt my assistant wants anything to do with you. I made sure poor Isabella thought we had a passionate reunion the other night and she just got to see my beautiful engagement ring." She held up her hand and waved it at me.

"Bella was here?" I asked quietly and she smiled deviously.

"I can see it all over your face, Eddie. Do you think I believe that you just had one kiss? You're a liar and a cheat and I'll make sure everybody knows that." She seemed to forget all about being upset that we were over and more focused on making sure I was known to be the villain in this whole debacle.

"When was she here?" I asked angrily and then remembered the screaming. "Is that who you were yelling at?"

"If you could have seen her face, Eddie, she was heartbroken. How she ever thought she stood a chance with you is baffling. It's irrelevant anyway, I don't think you'll be hearing from her anytime soon… neither will I for that matter. I fired her." She turned and walked down the street.

I checked the time and groaned. I tried to call Bella, but as I expected her cell was off. I had to be at work soon, I'd missed one shift so I couldn't call in sick again and there was no time to go and see her before I started. As soon as I finished, however, I was going straight to her apartment. As I hurried to get ready all I could think about was her and it didn't even occur to me that the elf hadn't even crossed my mind since I saw Bella's face in Tanya's apartment.

* * *

**So he did it finally! I know a lot of you were upset with him for not dumping her straight away, but this is "real time" each chapter is a new day in the story, so for all the complaints this is too slow etc, at the end of the day they have only known each other for two weeks... not so long really.**

**BTW there was no drugging of Edward... just a tummy bug. Honest!**

**We'll hear from Tanya in the epi, but right now this is E&B's story :)**

**More to come tomorrow and just know it's all prewritten no changing to be made now!**

**xoxo**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help.**

**Day 17**

**Edward…**

"Bella, please," I shouted as I banged on the door. "I need to explain, please let me explain."

It was late, well after midnight but I knew there was someone at home and they were awake. I could see light shining underneath the door and I'd heard talking. I thumped my hand over and over and after a few minutes I heard footsteps stomping to the door. It swung open and I saw Alice glaring back at me with a sheet wrapped around her. So maybe it wasn't _talking_ I'd heard…

"What?" she hissed.

"Bella?"

"Like she wants to talk to you?" she said sharply and then frowned. "What happened to your face?"

"Bella?" I said again. "Please, Alice. I need to talk to her."

"Why?" She shook her head. "So you can tell her you want to take her out on a date and then stumble out of your girlfriends bedroom all sexed up? Or maybe you're just here to explain in person how you weren't going to dump the girlfriend that was created in the fiery depths of Mount Doom, but propose to her instead?"

"I'd rather be telling Bella this, but for the record I did _not_ sleep with Tanya and I certainly did _not_ propose. She bought the ring herself, she put the ring on herself and she took great pleasure in telling Bella. I ended things with her this morning, Alice. I'm done with Tanya, so please can I just talk to Bella and explain this for myself?"

"She's not here," she said softly. "She went to the hospital to read to Mrs. Cope to give Jazz and I some _alone_ time. She's probably still there, I can call her-"

"No, I'll go and find her. Thanks, Alice." I smiled.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Seriously what happened to your face?"

"Mount Doom creates women with a pretty mean backhand it would seem." I grinned.

"Don't hurt her again," she warned.

"Not a chance," I said, never meaning it more.

Despite only having just spent the best part of fourteen hours at the hospital, I went straight back to find Bella. As I walked to Neurology, I wondered if I should have at least gone home to wash up and change my clothes. I was in well-worn scrubs, in desperate need of a shower and I'd spent the previous day throwing up… not exactly a great impression.

"I think, Dr. Cullen left," a nurse said to me as she buzzed me onto the unit.

"I'm here to collect a friend; I think she's fallen asleep in a patient's room." I smiled politely and she knew straightaway who I was talking about.

"I found Bella curled up on the chair. She looked so peaceful I didn't see any harm in leaving her be. Don't disturb Mrs. Cope," she said sternly and I nodded.

"I won't." I left the lights dimmed in the room and smiled when I saw Bella.

Someone had covered her with a blanket and she was fast asleep. As much as I was desperate to talk to her, I couldn't bring myself to wake her up. I carried a spare plastic chair across the room and sat down beside her. I closed my eyes and decided to wait for her to wake up. I was in no rush, it was my turn to wait for her.

**Bella…**

I knew I'd done it again even before I opened my eyes. "Damnitt," I grumbled.

Mrs. Cope was still sleeping and I didn't want to disturb her, so I stood up with the intention of leaving when I realised I wasn't alone in the room. Edward was here, asleep on an uncomfortable plastic chair with his long legs stretched out. He had his arms crossed across his chest and his head leaning awkwardly to one side.

I also noticed a scrape and a darkening mark on the corner of his eye. I wondered if one of his younger patients had struck out while he was treating them. I reached out with my fingers and touched the mark softly.

"Probably that wild creature that hit me in the face with the stupid crutch," I said to myself and jumped a country mile when Edward's eyes opened.

"It was Tanya," he said sleepily. "That ring she bought should be classified as dangerous."

"_She_ bought?" I asked and he chuckled. "You didn't give it to her? She said you proposed."

"Not a chance." He sat up and rubbed his eyes, wincing as he caught the wound. "And I didn't sleep with her, Bella. You have to know that."

"I was there, Edward. You came out of her room and you looked… you had sex hair." I frowned but he shook his head. "After she left she told me that you'd-"

"Whatever she said I promise she was lying. Nothing happened," he said firmly. "We went out to dinner and I had the words planned to the last syllable, Bella. She invited some people to join us _again_ and I thought I was being the good guy by waiting until we were alone and now I really wish I'd just manned up and come straight out with it. I drove her back to her apartment and said we needed to talk. She was fussing around for ages in the bathroom so I sat on her bed. I'd started feeling sick in the car and I must have fallen asleep. I swear to God, Bella, I woke up on top of the covers fully-clothed."

"But the next morning when I saw you." I wanted to believe him so badly. "You ran out of the apartment, Edward, you just left."

"I had to leave—I felt so sick," he said softly. "I threw up on the sidewalk as soon as I got outside. Some of it might still be there if you want me to show you?"

"Ew, no!" I pulled a face and he smiled. "You were sick?"

"I must have picked something up at work. I spent most of the time since that morning on my bathroom floor. It wasn't a pretty sight and then when I finally came downstairs I found Tanya had invited herself into my house and then taken it upon herself to propose to herself." He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "I don't know what she said to you, but I think I can imagine. I told her we were through about ten minutes after you left."

"And she did that?" I touched his cut again and he nodded. "She fired me."

"I know. I'm sorry—that's my fault." He smiled apologetically. "What are you going to do?"

"I haven't given that too much thought," I admitted. "I was thinking about something else."

"Oh?" His face brightened when I said that and I had to laugh. "Any chance I'm that something else?"

"Maybe." I smirked.

"I know we barely know each other and it's been a great big mess, but I was sort of hoping that we could still do that date?" he asked hopefully. "I just want to spend time with you without anything hanging over us."

"Okay, but I can I just ask one thing?" I asked him nervously and he nodded. "Not yet."

"Not yet?"

"A lot's happened for me these past few weeks and I need some time to think about it all and just get it straight in my own head. I also need to find a job real soon or I'm not making rent. How about we go out on the 1st January? A new year and a new start." He still had hold of my hand and his thumb was rubbing circles on my skin, making it very difficult to concentrate. "It's not because I'm not sure about you, Edward, I just think there's no harm in waiting a couple of weeks so we can both be ready."

"Do I have to stay away completely?" he asked a little unsurely. "Can we at least talk on the phone or if we pass each other here exchange a few pleasantries?"

I smiled. "That sounds perfectly acceptable."

"And you aren't going to stand me up on 1st January, right?"

"Not a chance." He leaned in to kiss me but I pulled back.

"Not even one little, teeny kiss?" He pouted.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Edward, but you just said you'd spent almost a day throwing up… kissing you right now doesn't quite hold the same appeal after hearing that." I felt so guilty for just thinking it, but Edward laughed. "How about I owe you a kiss?"

"Deal." He grinned. "But I get to choose the place and time… even if it's before we go on our official date."

"Deal," I said, unable to keep the huge smile from my face.

* * *

**Do you think they'll wait until the New Year? **

** More to come tomorrow.**

**xoxo**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help and to you lovely people for reading. **

**Day 18 **

**Edward…**

As much as I hated the idea about waiting until the New Year for a date, I understood Bella's reasoning. She lost her job because of me and I'd wait for as long as she needed me to. I had an I.O.U for a kiss that I was free to cash in whenever the moment took me and I was looking forward to that.

"So, Embry. The 21st it is." I smiled and he fist pumped the air. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Doc."

"How about you behave for those last few days?" I suggested and he pulled a face. "Come on, it can be your gift to the nurses."

"Handing out presents is Santa's job, Doc." He laughed. "And I guess elves could do it too."

"Well, I don't think we have any elves or Santa's around here, Embry." I smirked.

"We have the elf, Doc, and you could dress up again?"

"What do you mean we have the elf?" My mind went straight back to that kiss and I hated how excited I was with the mere mention of the word_._

"I mean she was here like a half hour ago." Embry shrugged.

"The elf was here?" I asked and he nodded. "Right here? Today? Here?"

"Yeah, Doc. She wasn't dressed up, but I recognised her and she went out somewhere with Rosalie Hale." He thought about it for a second and then added, "She said something about needing to go upstairs to see someone and then they were going out somewhere. Rosalie laughed at her hat."

"What?"

"She had this stupid reindeer hat with antlers and a bright red nose. Rosalie told her she looked like an idiot and she needed to find a friend with better taste." Embry laughed. "It was a really stupid hat, Doc."

My heart began to race. Bella was friends with Rosalie and Bella spent a lot of time upstairs on the neurology ward. Could she be the elf? It would make sense, Rose getting her friend to dress up. Was Bella the bearded elf?

_Please let her be the bearded elf..._

"I've got to go," I blurted out and ran to the stairwell.

If Bella _was_ the bearded elf did she know I was Santa? I had no idea what I was going to say to her, but I needed to know.

"Edward?" Dad called as I ran past him in the hallway. "What's wrong?"

"The bearded elf's here," I yelled without stopping.

"Huh? I didn't see an elf."

I burst into Mrs. Cope's room and saw her in the hat straight away. It was stupid and bright, and completely festive, but I didn't care because it was the head underneath the hat that I'd waited a long time to see.

**Bella…**

"Are we still not telling Edward that you're the elf?" Rose asked impatiently as I sat down in her office.

"I'm going to tell him tonight," I said nervously. "I did think about telling him in Mrs. Cope's room, but I just didn't know how to bring it up."

"How about, _Edward, I'm the elf you made out with in the closet?_" Rose suggested sarcastically. "Or is that a little too complex?"

"Bite me," I muttered. "I just don't know what he's going to say, Rose. I've left it for so long now I don't want him to think I tried to manipulate him, you know?"

Rose's expression softened and she smiled. "Bella, if he found that kiss half as enjoyable as you, then I think he's probably going to be more than happy. Tell him now, before you start dating, before it would hurt to lose him… just in case."

"It would already," I admitted. "I think it's safe to say I'm pretty much in love with him."

I had plans with Rose and Alice to have dinner and then finish up the last of our Christmas shopping. I was hoping that a glass or two of wine might just make the experience more enjoyable than the last time.

Alice was with Mrs. Cope, giving her one final manicure before she was transferred to a rehabilitation unit to continue her recovery. I was travelling with Mrs. Cope on the 20th to the purpose-built facility to help settle her in as she didn't really have anybody else. Dr. C was even giving up a few hours of his own time to come with us and I hoped that Edward didn't plan on telling his father anything about us until after then.

"Come on then," Rose grabbed her purse and ushered me to the door. "I'm starving."

"Oh crap," I whispered.

"What?"

"It's the kid who bust my face and pulled my beard." I pointed to the boy who was standing just a few feet away. "Protect me."

"If we just sneak past him he might not see us," Rose laughed. He did see us, but I still made it to Neurology in one piece and with no bleeding wounds anywhere.

Alice was just finishing up Mrs. Cope's nails when we got to her room. "That looks great, huh?" Alice held up Mrs. Cope's hand and we nodded.

"Fabulous." I grinned. "Rose is hating on your hat by the way." I took it off and threw it to her.

"There's nothing wrong with my hat," Alice objected putting it on her head and sticking her tongue out at Rose. "You're just all bah-humbuggy , Rose."

"That hat is ridiculous. Please don't wear it when you're with me," Rose moaned, but Alice just winked and left it on her head.

I bent over the bed to give Mrs. Cope a hug when Edward ran through the door.

"Hey, Edward," Alice said happily.

He looked around the room, his eyes returning back to Alice quickly. He stuttered and stammered something intelligible and then he looked at me in horror before backing out of the room, crashing into the linen trolley and fire extinguisher as he did.

"Edward?" I asked, following him out of the door. "What's wrong?"

"I… um… gotta go…" he mumbled, rubbing his head and still backing away. "Shit, I forgot something."

I returned to the room and looked at Alice who asked, "What the hell was that?"

"I have no idea." I shrugged and picked up my phone.

_Everything okay? You went nuts on us there. Bella x_

"Shall we eat?" Rose asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I guess he'll call later," I feigned a smile, clueless as to why he'd been so weird.

_I hoped._

* * *

**So Embry told him the elf was in the Rudolph hat... and he saw Alice in the hat… uh oh! Thanks for reading! There's a reason for the continued mix up as far as the elf's identity is concerned... some of you have already touched on it, but all will be explained and obviously soon as there are just 6 small chapters left plus an epi! **

**More to come tomorrow!**

**Katy **

**xoxox**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help and to you guys for reading!**

**Day 19 **

**Edward…**

As soon as I finished what felt like the longest shift ever, I went straight to my parents' house rather than going home to sleep… or talking to Bella. My head was spinning and I was a complete mess because I'd made out with Bella's best friend.

I had for one fantastic moment been completely convinced it was Bella who I'd kissed and Bella who had hounded my thoughts. I had every intention of striding over to her and kissing her just like I did that day in the closet, when I saw the hat was sitting on top of Alice's head instead. I had absolutely no idea what to say or do and just started backing away towards the door. I wasn't looking where I was going and crashed into god only knew what as I scrambled away. As soon as I could I bolted, needing some time alone to figure out what the fuck had just happened.

I was crazy about Bella. Bella had been Tanya's employee who I had gotten fired. I had made out with an Elf who I wanted to be Bella, but who turned out to be Alice, Bella's best friend and roommate. Alice was the goddamn bearded elf. I was fucked.

"Edward?" Mom answered the door sleepily. "Is everything okay?"

"No," I said glumly. "It's not."

"Why? Have you just come straight from work?" she asked and I nodded. "Come on; let's have a coffee and talk."

I followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the counter top while she poured us a drink.

"You look exhausted, Edward," she scolded. "You've should go and sleep for a while, then we can talk."

"I couldn't sleep… not now. Not after what's happened."

"You're scaring me," she said anxiously. "Is this about Tanya? We heard from her parents that you two were having difficulties. I tried to act surprised."

"Tanya and I broke up." I sighed. "That's not why I'm freaked out."

"Oh, is this to do with Bella?" she asked and I nodded.

"I'm crazy about her, Mom," I said sadly. "I'm crazy about her and I think she feels the same."

"And what's wrong with that?" she asked, evidently confused. "I don't understand, Edward."

"I found out who the elf was," I mumbled dejectedly. "One of my patients told me who she was."

"And that's not good because…?"

"He told me she was friends with Rose—that's Rosalie Hale our Unit Administrator. Rose is one of Bella's best friends, so I put two and two together." I ran my hands through my hair, pulling hard as I did. "Embry told me that he'd seen Bearded Elf-girl in a lame reindeer hat with Rose and they were going upstairs… neurology is upstairs and Bella spends a lot of time there."

"Okay," Mom said slowly, standing close to me obviously not sure where I was going with this. "Bella is Rosalie's friend and Rosalie organised the whole Santa thing, yes?"

"Yep," I agreed. "So I ran to Neurology, totally convinced that Bella was the elf—I didn't even consider the other possibility."

"Which was?"

"Bella's friend, Alice," I groaned.

"Alice was the elf?"

"I strode into the room like an idiot expecting to see Bella but it was Alice in the reindeer hat, Mom." I looked at her, feeling so guilty. "I kissed Bella's best friend."

"Okay, I admit that situation isn't ideal, but it was before you met Bella, Edward." She was trying to reassure me, but it wasn't working.

"But all this time I've had that kiss in my head I've been thinking about doing a lot more with the elf," I told her despairingly. "I've fantasised about doing all that with the elf… and the elf is Alice."

"There are some things you don't need to share with me." She pulled a face and then added, "But can I ask you one thing?"

"Sure." I nodded, not sure how the hell I was getting out of this mess without Bella thinking I was some kind of whore.

"Before you knew Alice was the elf and before you thought Bella might have been the elf—when you _fantasised_ about the elf, who did you picture?" She placed her hand on my shoulder and I knew where she was going.

"Bella," I admitted. "From pretty much the first day I met her, it was her face behind the beard. It still is really… in my head at least."

"Then that says it all, sweetheart, don't you think?" she said softly. "If this girl is as wonderful as you and your father tell me, then she's not going to judge you for a mishap in a closet. Take a leap, Edward, tell her the truth. That's all you can do."

"But what if she does judge me?" I whispered. "What if I lose her?"

"That's why it's called a leap of faith." Mom smiled and kissed my cheek. "Besides, how could she not want you?"

"You have to say that." I chuckled.

"Yes I do, but it doesn't make it any less true." She hugged me tightly. "I think you need to have some faith in this girl. If she sees even a fraction of what I do, there's no way she could ever let you go."

I was ordered up to my old room to sleep and still recovering from being sick, I slept for near on twelve hours. By the time I woke up I had just enough time to shower and eat before having to go back to the hospital for another gruelling shift.

I changed in the doctor's lounge and when I checked my cell, I noticed Bella had text after my mini meltdown to make sure I was okay. I needed to reply, but I was clueless as to what the hell to say, so I kept it simple.

_Can I see you tonight? E x_

I waited for her reply, but didn't get one so I shut the locker with a sigh and started my rounds. I decided to stop by Mrs. Cope's room after I finished and hoped Bella was there. I was telling her and I wasn't letting her go.

* * *

**Some of you said it yourself... but I wanted Edward to fall for Bella regardless of who the elf was. **

**More to come tomorrow!**

**xoxox**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help. I'm stunned... you guys are more than awesome. I wish I could thank you all in person, but I can't. How about some Dr. C advise on the elf situation?**

**Day 20 **

_Bella..._

"You don't have to come with us," I reminded Dr. C at the ungodly time of 5am the next morning. We'll be just fine, right Mrs. Cope?"

Dr. C smiled and shook his head. "I want to come."

"But it's your day off," I said and he nodded. "You're a pretty special guy, Dr. C."

"Some patients stick with you, Bella," he said softly and he pushed Mrs. Cope out of her room one last time. "Your father was one of them and of everyone I've not been able to save, he is the one that pained me the most."

"You really don't know how thankful I am for what you did," I told him as we manoeuvred the wheelchair into the elevator. "Because of you, the nurses, and everyone else who tried to save him, I got the chance to say goodbye."

Mrs. Cope was being moved by Ambulance, and because of Dr. C's connections, they let me ride in the back with her. Within five minutes of leaving the hospital, Mrs. Cope fell asleep and left me to occupy myself for the next few hours.

The past few days hadn't been a complete bust. I may have lost my job, but I was hopeful that I could use the experience to push myself into doing something I loved. I'd started sketching ideas of toys again and I was going to put my work out there and see what happened.

I'd been unable to sleep the previous night, and I'd tossed and turned all night unable to think about anything else but Edward. I'd wanted to tell him that I was the elf, but I had no idea how he'd react. The drive made me tired and I felt my eyes start to droop and the next thing I knew Dr. C was standing in the back of the ambulance, laughing at me.

"Ops," I giggled, noticing the sketches had fallen onto the floor.

Dr. C bent down to help pick them up and I saw him looking at them. "You did these?" he asked, almost shocked.

"Yeah," I said, embarrassed. "I used to work for a company that designed toys and I had some ideas of my own. I guess, since Tanya fired me, I thought about trying to get into that kind of work. Not that I have any experience but still, it's worth a shot, right?"

"Can I keep these?" he asked and I frowned. "I might know someone who can point you in the right direction, Bella. Let me show him these and see what he thinks. I'll have them back to you by Christmas I promise."

"You'd do that?" I grinned.

"Of course," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You deserve a chance to do something you love."

"You Cullen men are quite something, huh, Dr. C?" I winked and he laughed.

"My wife is dying to meet you," he told me. "She hears nothing but good things from me and she's seen the way my son lights up when he talks about you. Expect an invite to our house for dinner soon."

"Should I be afraid?"

"Very afraid, Esme always wanted a daughter." He laughed again and helped me out of the ambulance.

We waited for the team of people at the rehabilitation centre to help Mrs. Cope into her chair again and then followed behind them to her new room. We spent several hours making sure my favourite patient was settled in and had everything she needed.

"She loves the classics," I told one of the staff. "Until she can manage it herself you will read to her, right?"

After being assured several times that they would, Dr. C suggested we leave. He offered to bring me back to visit soon and even said it would be nice if Alice came along.

"Oh good god," I laughed. "She'd be in her element with all these ladies to give manicures to."

I couldn't help but cry a little when we left and Dr. C patiently waited for me to get a grip before trying to start conversation. The more he talked the more I saw his son in him.

"Edward is like you so much, Dr. C," I said affectionately.

"In some ways I suppose, but if you met my wife you'd see more of Edward in her eyes," he said sweetly. "And he'd probably kill me for telling you this, but he's a mommy's boy."

I laughed. "Yeah, I get that impression."

"He's there now," he continued to say. "I called Esme on the drive over here and she said he was in his own bed and had spent most of the night worrying about the elf."

_Why would he worry about the elf?_

"The elf?" I asked and he hesitated. "You know about the elf?"

"Yes he told me… wait… do _you_ know about the elf?" he asked nervously and I shrugged. "You _do_ know about the elf."

"Maybe," I said cautiously. "What do you know about the elf?"

"I don't know if I should be talking about it with... you… because you're you… and the elf is… the elf." I smirked and Dr. C noticed. "Do you know who the elf is?"

"It depends," I said anxiously. "Are you going to tell Edward?"

He frowned and said, "It depends on what you tell me. I mean how can I say I won't tell him if I don't know what you're going to tell me. What if he found out that you told me but I told you I wouldn't tell him and then he found out and was mad at me for not telling him what you told me?"

"What?" I shook my head. "Too many tells and told in that sentence, Dr. C. I'll put it to you this way—I know who the elf is and what I'm asking is, do you want to know, or should Edward know first?"

"I do want to know who the elf is, but as the identity of the elf is somewhat of an issue for my son, I think that he should know first." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Although…"

"Oh jeez," I laughed. "Dr. C, you're making this very difficult. What's _although_?"

"Although, hearing who the elf is from the girl he's fallen madly in love with might not be such a good idea. One or both of you could end up hurt."

"Excuse me?" I asked and Dr. C's eyes widened in panic. "What was that again?"

"Um… I think I need to stay quiet for the rest of the drive. I may be making too much mess for my son to clear up." He started whistling and looking everywhere but at me.

"Dr. C?" I asked and he sighed.

"It was me," I said quietly, feeling my cheeks flush.

"It was you, what?"

"I was the elf." I felt like such a tramp. I was telling Edward's dad that I'd played tonsil tennis in a closet with his son without even asking for his name. "I'm the slutty elf."

"You're the elf?" he said in shock. "You're the elf… and you're you… you're the elf and still you?"

"Last time I checked, yep." I laughed nervously. "I wanted to tell him so many times but there was Tanya… and then when I was going to tell him he went all weird on me and I haven't heard from him since. Do you think he knows and that's why he's avoiding me?"

"I don't think so… I don't know why he would be?" He shook his head. "It _really_ is a small world."

"You're telling me." I sighed. "Edward was Santa, Tanya's boyfriend, and your son… that's a hell of a lot of coincidences."

"Or just fates way of making things happen."

"Fate?" I asked doubtfully.

"You don't believe in fate?" he asked, surprised.

"How can life be down to fate? Surely it's down to chances and opportunities?"

"It's a lot of coincidences don't you think? Why couldn't you have been destined to meet Edward and give him that final push to end things with Tanya? Why couldn't it have been destiny that Edward's feelings for you got you fired and finally able to take a chance to do something that you enjoy?" Dr. C shrugged. "I'm not so sure that can be down to simple coincidence."

Fate? Destiny? It all sounded a little too much like a bad Christmas movie for my liking.

"And my father?" I asked sadly. "If what you say is true, then my father—the only person I had in the world, was destined to die like that?"

"And look at the person you became because of it, Bella? Would any ordinary girls sit for hours with strangers just so they had someone like you and Alice do? Would just any ordinary girls volunteer to dress up in a ridiculous costume to give out presents to kids? You met Alice and then Rose because of that tragedy and you're all bonded by it. I think I'd call that destiny, wouldn't you?"

"That's really deep, Dr. C." I smiled and he shrugged.

"I'm not a religious man, Bella, but I've seen people who should never have lived walk out of hospital and I've seen men like you're father who had everything to live for taken cruelly. I refuse to believe it's all for nothing and whatever it is, I think for certain it brought you to my son."

"And you'd be okay with that? With your son and the slutty elf?" I asked doubtfully and Dr. C laughed.

"I think he referred to you as the _bearded_ elf not the slutty elf," he joked. "But to answer your question—without a shadow of a doubt yes."

"Then I guess I just need to tell, Edward." I took a deep breath and Dr. C squeezed my shoulder. "What will he say? I mean what do I do if he's mad that I didn't tell him?"

"Just have a little faith."

* * *

**Go Dr. C! **

**More to come tomorrow! Seriously, how close are we to Christmas already! **

**xoxox**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help and to you guys for being all sorts of wonderful!**

**Day 21 **

**Edward…**

"Bella, here's the thing. The day before I met you I was here, dressed as Santa, and I kissed an elf… not a real elf obviously, someone dressed up as an elf. I never really thought I'd find her and then, just when I finally realized how crazy I am about you… it turns out the elf is Alice."

I groaned at how ridiculous I sounded. I was trying desperately to come up with a way to tell Bella that I'd kissed Alice that didn't end up with her hitting me or refusing to speak to me again. Since the unexpected turn of events, I'd done nothing but worry, stress, and panic over what was going to happen when she found out.

I was pacing up and down in the doctor's lounge when I heard the tap on the door and Embry poked his head inside. "Everything okay, Embry?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, Doc. I just wanted to say goodbye." He smiled the biggest smile I'd ever seen. "Mom's just taking all my stuff to the car and then we're outta here."

I reached out and shook his hand with a chuckle. "I'm not getting any closer to you than that, I don't trust you."

"My mom's making me tell everyone that I'm sorry," he said in disgust. "I've already told the nurses but they were too busy throwing a party to celebrate my discharge."

I laughed. "You're quite something Embry Call, and I want you to keep in touch. It's going to be really quiet around here without you."

"I guess I'd have been really quiet forever if it hadn't been for you, Doc," he said quietly. "Thank you."

I forgot my worry about him having a trick up his sleeve, and gave him a hug. As soon as my arms closed around him I heard a loud farting noise and Embry burst out laughing.

"Gotcha!" He showed me a Whoopee Cushion hidden underneath his arm. "Mom said I could keep this."

"I'll never learn, huh?" I laughed and we walked over to his mother.

Despite his wild behaviour, everyone was happy to see him so full of life and happy. The nurses just kept a distance from him as they said their goodbyes. Just as he was about to leave, he turned around and said, "Hey, Doc, I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?" I asked.

"Tell Elf-girl I'm sorry I busted her face with the crutch." He smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean for her to get hurt."

"That wasn't the elf, it was her friend, Bella, but I'll make sure to tell her," I told him sadly and he frowned.

"That was definitely Elf-girl, Doc. I saw her after she came out of the closet, remember?" He winked.

"That wasn't Bella… it was her friend," I repeated but he shook his head defiantly.

"I'm pretty sure it was the elf, Doc. She had the costume with her when she was talking to you."

"Huh?" I asked. "She had what… where?"

"She put it behind her back—I could see the beard sticking out of the top." He shrugged. "Whoever she is would you still tell her I'm sorry?"

"Tell who you're sorry?" Rose appeared beside me giving Embry a cautious look. "What have you been up to now?"

"I was just asking the doc, to say sorry to Elf-girl for hitting her in the face, but he's gone all weird." Embry pointed his thumb in my direction.

I saw Rose look at me and then back to Embry. "You know Bella's the elf?" she asked him and he shrugged.

"Alice is the elf," I said slowly. "Embry told me Alice was the elf."

"Hey, I didn't tell you that," he argued.

"You said that Elf-girl had been here talking to Rose and she was wearing a stupid reindeer hat." I turned around to face Rose. "I came downstairs because I thought it was Bella… fuck I wanted it to be her so much and then Alice was standing there in the stupid reindeer hat!"

"First of all," Rose said and slapped the back of my head. "Watch your mouth, Doctor Cullen, this kid needs no encouragement."

"Hey," I grumbled and saw Embry laugh.

"Second of all, why didn't you just open your fuck… um… mouth? About ten seconds before you came into the room, Bella gave Alice her hat _back_." Rose went to slap me again but I dodged out of the way. "Bella was the elf you moron, she just didn't know how to tell you because of Tanya and then she thought she'd left it too long. I told her she should just come right out, but _noooohhh_ she had to play it her way. You both need a good slap."

"Bella's the bearded elf?" I whispered and she nodded. "Bella's my elf girl?"

"Yeah," Rose said and my smile grew bigger. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I may have a plan," I said my smile now a grin that was so wide my face was hurting. "You can't say anything-"

"No. No way. Nope. Not gonna happen," Rose said fiercely. "I've had to keep my mouth shut for weeks about all of this and that turned into one giant clusterfuck. No offense, Edward, but Bella is my friend and I don't keep secrets from my friend."

"Please, Rose. You can help me… just get her here tomorrow night for the end of my shift. Please?" I begged shamelessly.

"Go on, Miss. Hale, have a heart—it's Christmas," Embry laughed. "I'll help."

"Embry, if she sees you coming she'll probably run the other way," Rose told him and then glared at me. "I'll give you a day, just one day and then I'm telling her."

"That's more than enough," I told her happily.

* * *

**Thank God for Embry, huh?**

**Santa and the Bearded Elf was featured on Rob Attack this week. Thank you to Cared for such a lovely review, it was like an early Christmas pressie for me! There are some other amazing festive recs on there, it's definitely worth checking out :)**

**Thanks for reading. More to come tomorrow!**

**XOXOXO**


	22. Chapter 22

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help and of course to you guys for being so so incredible!**

**Day 22**

**Bella…**

I felt sick, my palms were disgustingly sweaty, and I was shaking. Surely that wasn't normal? Then again, normal probably wasn't making out with Santa in a closet whilst dressed as an elf. And normal definitely wasn't falling in love with your bosses boyfriend who turned out to be Santa.

_Definitely not a normal situation._

Edward was working, Dr. C had told me what time he was finishing and I was going to meet him, tell him, and hopefully cash in on that kiss I owed him.

_Maybe even more?_

"You look really cute, Bella," Alice said, nudging her boyfriend. "Doesn't she look cute, Jasper?"

"Are you sweating?" he asked and Alice's gentle nudge became a sharp jab in his ribs. "Ow, Alice. I'm serious; look at her… she's really fucking sweaty."

"Mm." Alice walked over to me and reached for my forehead. "You are _really_ sweaty, Bella, and you have a temperature. Are you feeling okay?"

"No I'm not okay," I hissed. "I'm just about to tell Edward who I really am and you guys are making me paranoid. I feel sick, I'm so damned nervous and you two are not fucking helping."

"Seriously, you look sick, Bella," Alice said to me. "You're even paler than usual."

"I'm fine," I sighed and snatched up my jacket. "Remind me never to ask either of you two for a vote of confidence in the near future. I'll be even sweatier now thanks to you guys."

I was about three feet away from our building when I decided that the nausea was getting worse, and actually I _could_ be sick. I got another four feet further down the street when I promptly threw up.

Twenty minutes later I was in bed with a cold, wet towel on my forehead, an emergency sick bucket by my side, and Nurse Alice checking in on me every five minutes. It would seem Dr. Edward Cullen hadn't kept enough of a distance from me the other day and instead of sharing a kiss, we'd shared his goddamn dirty germs.

I spent the better part of thirty-six hours dozing, throwing up, dozing, and dreaming about Edward. I even opened my eyes once or twice and imagined him sitting by my bed, smiling at me. Did that constitute a dream or a hallucination? Did it even matter?

Finally at about five am on Christmas Eve morning, I started to feel more human and less corpse. I dragged my ass out of the bedroom and took a nice, long, steaming hot shower. I emerged from the bathroom to find Alice grinning at me.

"Wow, the patient finally surfaces I see? I thought you were in there for life." She giggled and I threw her the finger. "I'm kidding, Bella. How are you feeling now?"

"So much better," I told her. "But I'm seriously pissed."

"Why?"

"I've just spent all that time in my bed alone, Alice," I grumbled. "I'd hoped to have company in there at least once by now."

She laughed. "You did as a matter of fact, just not sexually speaking."

"Huh?"

"Rose told Edward you were sick and he stopped by to make sure you were okay. When I went out to work yesterday he offered to sit here with you just in case you needed anything." She pointed to a large bunch of flowers over by the window. "He brought those for you."

"He did?" I smiled goofishly at the beautiful bouquet of red roses and deep green holly. "That's so sweet. I think I'll just call him…"

"He's at work," Alice said and I pouted. "It seems a few of the other doctors got sick and he's covering until later. But…"

"But?"

"He was really hoping you'd feel well enough to meet him when he's finished. I said I'd let him know this afternoon." She had a mischievous glint in her eye. I knew it well; it was the look that usually got us into trouble. "Are you?"

"Well enough to see him?" I nodded. "Definitely."

"Then you need to go to the Carriage Stand on Chatham Street at eight-thirty." She was definitely up to something.

"Okay," I said nervously. "I don't like it when you're all smug and cheeky like this."

"It's Christmas Eve, Bella, I'm excited and happy."

"And up to something," I muttered. Alice just laughed in response and darted into the bathroom. "Definitely up to something, the sneaky little witch."

I looked at the time and groaned. Fifteen hours until I saw him, what the hell was I going to do for fifteen hours? More importantly, what the hell was I going to wear? Then I had a brainwave. With a wide smile I picked up the phone and dialled someone I knew could help.

"Why the fuck are you calling me at five thirty in the goddamn morning, Bella?" Rose growled.

"Because I need my wonderful friend's help. Sweet, sweet, wonderful, Rose," I said to her and she swore at me a few more times. "Please, beautiful, Rose, please oh please will you help me?"

"Seriously what is with everyone?" She sounded frustrated. "Please help me, Rose? I just need one favour, Rose. Please, Rose, will you help me? Isn't it supposed to be Santa's season? Why the fuck can't you just ask him?"

"Rose," I begged. "I really need your help, it's a potentially life-changing moment for me. Pretty please with bells on top? I did dress in that humiliating elf costume for you."

"Fine." She sighed. "Hurry up and tell me what the hell it is you want and let me get some sleep before I have to go to fucking work."

"I need the elf costume and I need it for tonight."

* * *

**Of course she was going to end up back in that costume!**

**This and the next couple of chapters are the only ones not to follow the day by day thingy that's been happening the rest of the fic. More to come tomorrow!**

**Bossward update to follow this if you're reading!**

**xoxoxo**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help and to you for reading, reviewing, pimping and alerting!**

**Day 23**

**Edward…**

I was at work with my plan just about perfected. I had everything I needed right here in our closet and the only thing missing was Bella. I was definitely feeling festive, happy, and all the rest of the cheesy crap I used to grumble about. I whistled as I did my rounds and goofed about with the kids much to their amusement.

I had about twenty minutes to go before Bella should be arriving, so I headed to Rose's office—she was expecting me and had my stuff ready. She was on the phone and when she saw me she shook her head and put her thumb down.

"I'll stop by tomorrow and see how she is, Alice. No, Edward's here, I'll tell him and then kick his ass." Rose hung up. "That was Alice—Bella's sick. _Somebody_ seems to have given her the stomach flu."

"Oh shit," I mumbled and sat down with a deflated sigh. "How is she?"

"Sick," she replied bluntly. "So you'll have to figure something else out."

"Yeah I guess I will," I mumbled. "Will you let me know how she's feeling?"

"Alice has to work tomorrow so I said I'd go and sit with her." Rose smiled. "It's only fair given the fact she's always there for everyone else. I'll text and let you know how she is, okay?"

"Rose, would you mind if I sat with her?" I asked hopefully and she nodded eagerly.

"You'd go and sit with her? Yes, please do, I can't handle sick people." She looked visibly relieved. "Thanks, Edward."

"Can I just clarify a few things?" I laughed and she nodded, evidently confused. "You don't particularly like kids, you hate blood, and you can't handle sick people either? Rose, why the hell are you working in a hospital?"

"It's a job I guess." She shrugged. "No one likes their job."

"Bullshit," I said softly and she looked at me. "I think you put up a good front, but really you love your job and the kids too, why else would you spend so much time organising things for them to do? That stuff isn't part of your job description."

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you, Dr," she said with half a smile. "I have a reputation to uphold."

Xxxx

I sat with Bella for most of the day while Alice was at work. I caught a few hours' sleep in the chair by her bed and made myself some lunch in her kitchen, but aside from a few moans and brief eye flickers she was snoring her head off for the entire time I was there.

"You'll tell her?" I clarified with Alice as I was preparing to leave. I'd reworked my plan and enlisted the help of Bella's friend. Unfortunately, the closet was no longer an option as Rose wasn't around to cover for me. So instead, I'd come up with another idea that I hoped would still be as special.

"Yes." She nodded. "Eight-thirty, Chatham Street Carriage Stand. I'll tell her, Edward, and I need to hear every word about what happens—from both of you. It's so romantic and about time you two sorted this out once and for all."

"Thanks, Alice," I told her and then headed home for a short nap before I had to be back at the hospital.

The next evening was Christmas Eve, not the worst time for a first official date. I just had to hope she was feeling well enough to turn up. The shift at the hospital that day was long and busy thanks to a sudden influx of sick staff members. I took a shower after my shift ended and then changed clothes, laughing as I did because I was going to look ridiculous.

I paced up and down by the waiting carriage, hoping she would show and for a few awful minutes I didn't think she was going to. Then I saw her and I didn't feel so ridiculous after all.

* * *

**It had to happen on Christmas Eve of course!**

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Last one tomorrow and then the epi!**

**xoxoxoxoxo**


	24. Chapter 24

**Thanks to Mary, Kitty, and Donna for all their amazing help. It's Christmas Eve… I'm super excited!**

**Day 24 **

**Bella…**

I seriously had mental health issues. Not only had I agreed to wear this hideous outfit once before, albeit under duress, but now I was _volunteering _ to wear it a second time to declare my love to the most amazing guy. I drew the line at the beard because this time I wanted Edward to see my face.

I was freezing, literally freezing my ass off but had thought _not_ coming out in a coat was a smart move. As I walked I couldn't help but smile despite the freezing temperature and the insane costume, because it was such a beautiful night. Clear, star filled sky with a bright moon and a slight covering of snow on the ground. Even the bells ringing on my hat and shoes didn't irritate me—it was Christmas Eve and hopefully I was about to get the best present ever.

I was there bang on eight-thirty but I couldn't see Edward anywhere. There were people hurrying past me, a few couples waiting for carriage rides, and then just Santa standing by another empty carriage.

_Wait… Santa?_

I couldn't help but smile when I recognised him and I ran over to him not caring who was watching. "Hey," I whispered nervously.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, muffled from the big white beard.

"Better," I admitted, feeling my smile growing wider and wider. "Even better now… I was worried that I'd stick out like a sore thumb."

"No, I can share that with you." He chuckled and then reached for my hand.

"So now you know, huh?" I said shyly and he nodded.

"It was you? All this time I couldn't stop thinking about that perfect kiss with a girl in a damned beard and all this time she's been right here in front of me." I couldn't see his mouth but the twinkle in his eyes told me he had a smile as wide as my own. "I wanted it to be you so badly, Bella."

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything… I didn't even know myself straight away. I was having so much fun talking to you and I thought you looked familiar but couldn't place you. Then you told Tanya why you were late and I couldn't believe you were Santa." I was talking so fast the bell on the back of my hat was ringing like crazy. "After that I had no idea what to do or how to tell you because Tanya was my boss _and_ your girlfriend and then I realized I'd fallen in love with you and then I got drunk and kissed you and fell even more in love with you if that was even possible and then…"

"Slow down." Edward's hand covered my mouth and he laughed. "You need to breathe, Jingle Bella."

"Sorry," I mumbled against his hand.

"There's nothing to apologise for. There is nothing to explain." He moved his hand from my mouth and rested it on my cheek softly. "I admit that kiss was really something but I'm here because I fell in love with Bella, not the elf."

"But you're dressed like Santa," I said to him and he nodded.

"Because Rose said you were worried how I'd react when you told me. I figured this was a good way to let you know that hearing it was _you_ dressed up as the elf was the second best thing I'd ever heard someone say." He smiled and brought his other hand up to hold my face.

"What was the first?" I whispered.

"The first best thing?" he asked and I nodded. "When you just said you'd fallen in love with me. That was definitely the best, Bella."

"Oh," I breathed. "Wow."

"That word pretty much sums up these past few weeks for me." He leaned forward to kiss me, but I stopped him quickly.

"What?" he asked and I grinned.

"Lose the beard, Edward." I tugged it down and saw his wonderful crooked smile. "Much better."

"Can I kiss you now?" he asked.

"No," I told him. "I'm going to kiss you."

And as we kissed outside in the freezing cold, somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered just how this would have looked to people around us. Santa and an elf kissing in the middle of the snow covered street on Christmas Eve—that was something you didn't see every day.

"I love you, Elf-girl," Edward murmured against my lips.

I giggled and pulled back to look at him. "I love you, too, Santa."

* * *

**So that's it! I was going to post the _Elfilogue _tomorrow but I don't think I'll have the time so all being well that should be up about 10pm (UK Time). **

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing, I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Katy xxxx**


	25. Elfilogue

**The last one... eek! Thanks to Kitty, Mary, & Donna for all their help and to you guys for reading!**

**Elfilogue**

"I cannot believe I'm here… in this costume _again_," I groaned.

"As I remember it didn't turn out so badly for you last time," Alice reminded me and I almost smiled.

_Almost smiled._

I was feeling particularly grumpy because Edward had left for work without waking me this morning. He had left a note, but I would have preferred another form of goodbye.

I fished the note out of my pocket and looked at it sadly, it was even harder now I was back at the hospital, knowing he was here but I couldn't see him. Not yet anyway.

_**Sorry, I didn't wake you, but it was so early and we've got a really busy night. I know you'd rather not, but I'm quite looking forward to seeing you all dressed up again and I won't confuse the kids with Santa drooling over an elf ;) I'll be watching eagerly and make sure you keep the costume afterwards**_

_**Love you, but you know that already.**_

_**Edward**_

"Oh, here," Alice said and pushed another note into my hand. "He wanted me to give this to you before we started."

"Another?" I smiled widely and she nodded.

_**Bella,**_

_**Are you thinking about the first time you got to wear this? I can't pass by the closet without thinking about it. The second time I saw you wearing it was just as memorable, can you believe it's been a year to the day since I got to call the Bearded Elf my girlfriend? It's a shame the night didn't go entirely to plan…**_

I smiled widely. It was Christmas Eve, a whole year of calling Santa my boyfriend. Life was, pardon my French, fucking awesome. Although, Edward was right, that first night we got together had turned out a little different to what I'd hoped for.

_One year earlier._

"_Are you two getting in or not?" The disgruntled carriage driver was getting fed up waiting for us to finish kissing._

_Edward pulled back and smirked. _

"_No," we both answered in unison._

"_Let's go, Santa," I whispered._

_His house didn't have a naked Alice or Jasper anywhere to be found, and I'd spent the best part of a month fantasizing about getting Santa to bed. His house was still a mess, but it didn't matter. As soon as we got close, he threw me over his shoulder and ran the last few feet to his front door._

"_Edward," I squealed. "What the hell are you doing?"_

"_Speeding things up." He laughed and flung open the door. "Santa's got a busy night planned to enjoy a present of his own." _

_He put me down and before I could get my balance he kissed me hard and I stumbled backwards, pulling him with me. We tumbled to the hard wooden floor with a loud thud._

"_Ow," I muttered. _

"_Oops, sorry." He chuckled. "Are you okay?"_

"_Can't breathe," I gasped dramatically. "I'm being suffocated by Santa."_

_Edward helped me to my feet and flicked the bell on my hat playfully. "You need to get used to being like that," he said roughly._

"_By that do you mean you cutting off my air supply?" I scoffed._

_He leaned in close and kissed me once, but it was a kiss that I knew was a prelude of what was to come. "No, Bella, you need to get used to being underneath me… only with a lot less clothes."_

_My mouth hung open and I went dizzy. "Holy shit," I murmured. "Is it hot in here?"_

_He laughed, but then his mouth was on mine again quickly. He was hungry, passionate, and I still wanted more. This time there was no one or nothing to hold us back. I opened the buttons on his tunic and he shrugged it off his shoulders. My hand immediately latched onto the belt of his pants and then we heard the "Ding, dong," of the doorbell._

_Edward looked to me, puzzled and then we both looked at the door. Through the frosted glass, I could make out two figures._

"_Carol singers?" I suggested and he nodded, kissing me again._

_I resumed my mission to get his clothes off, and opened the belt and the button of the pants. I was just about to push them down when the doorbell rang again._

"_Sweetheart, are you home?"_

"_Mom?" He groaned under his breath, "Now, seriously?"_

"_Your mother's here?" I almost cried in frustration._

"_Sorry… yeah, just let me get rid of them." He took two strides towards the door._

"_Edward, your pants," I tried to warn him before he opened the door but it was too late._

"_Hey, Mom, Dad," he said and the red pants slid down his legs before he even realized what was going on._

"_Oh God," I whimpered and covered my face._

_Underneath the Santa costume, Edward had gone for loose, white cotton boxer shorts, which were incredibly sexy. The only problem with loose boxers, they did a poor job concealing the erection he was sporting… in fact they seemed to be emphasizing it._

_Oh my…_

"_Shit," he hissed. I tried not to giggle as he bent down and yanked the pants back up quickly. "I…. um… so, what are you guys doing here?"_

"_Interrupting something, clearly," Dr. C snickered. "I do hope you have company, or I'm seriously going to be seeking professional help for your Christmas character fetishes."_

_Edward sighed and rubbed his face with one hand and pointed to me hovering a few feet away, with the other._

"_Hey, Dr. C," I said nervously and blushing furiously._

"_Bella," he said, taking in my outfit and still obviously dying to laugh. "You both seem very attached to those costumes."_

"_Dad," Edward warned. "I will slam this door in your face if you say another word."_

_He held up his hands, but still burst out laughing. "Sorry, it's just quite a sight."_

_I looked anxiously to Edward's mother who had never met me._

"_Sweetheart, forgive me for not hugging you… just yet," she said and then grimaced. "When you're… less… um… wound up, perhaps."_

"_Kill me now," Edward groaned. "Why are you here?"_

"_We thought you were here alone and came to take you to our house for Christmas. We hated the idea of you being here on your own." She glanced at me with a cheeky smile. "But I see you are most definitely not alone. I'm Esme, and you my dear, must be Bella."_

"_Hello," I mumbled, still distracted by the huge boner that Edward had been sporting. "It's nice to meet you. Dr. C and Edward have both told me so much about you."_

_She walked over to me and gave me a tight hug. "I feel like I know you already. At first you were the girl my husband would have adopted if he had the chance, and then you were the girl who stole my son's heart."_

_I blushed even more and Edward grinned. _

"_You have no idea how relieved I was to discover you were also the bearded elf… I was very concerned for a few days," she teased and winked at her son._

"_Okay, I think you've humiliated your only child more than enough for one night," Edward interrupted and stood beside me, his arm sliding around my waist. "I appreciate the gesture, but you don't have to worry about me being alone."_

"_Well, of course the invitation extends to Bella." Esme smiled sweetly. "We'd be delighted if you'd spend Christmas with us."_

"_You can even bring the costumes," Dr. C added, laughing shamelessly._

_I saw Edward shake his head and I couldn't help but giggle._

"_Carlisle, stop it. You're embarrassing them," Esme scolded. "Bella, would you like to come?"_

_I didn't know what to say. I'd been looking forward to spending the night with Edward, but the idea of having Christmas with my two favourite men and Esme sounded pretty fucking great. Usually, I ended up playing the fifth wheel with Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper._

"_Um…" I looked to Edward to make sure he was okay with this. "Don't you want to be with your family… alone?"_

"_Bella, you've been like a part of my family for ten years," Dr. C said kindly. _

"_I'm spending Christmas with you, Bella," Edward told me. "I'd like to spend it with my parents, too."_

"_Okay." I grinned. "I'd love to spend Christmas with you all."_

"_Wonderful," Esme said happily. "We'll have dinner tonight and then you must try some of my eggnog, Bella. I've been perfecting it for years."_

"_Go easy on the eggnog," Edward whispered. "I need you conscious and alert tonight… my mother's eggnog is a little on the strong side."_

_I didn't go easy on the eggnog unfortunately. It was too delicious and I passed out on the couch before Esme and Dr. C went to bed. I vaguely remembered Edward carrying me up to his bedroom, still dressed like an elf. It wasn't exactly the way I'd planned to ring in Christmas, but I was too content and too happy to care._

"Are you still with us?" Alice nudged me and I grinned.

"Yeah, just thinking about stuff." I held the note tightly in my hand. "I guess doing this again isn't so bad. I just wish Rose had asked Edward to be Santa, you know?"

"Maybe she'll let you guys borrow the costumes again?" she suggested.

"We do have unfinished business that's for sure." I smiled wistfully and followed her out into the hall.

Rose stomped over to us and thrust another note to me. "Next time you see your boyfriend, please remind him I'm not a fucking mailman. He didn't want to listen to me when I tried to tell him to deliver his own note.

I laughed and opened the note.

_**Remember Christmas Day? I know we didn't buy each other gifts, but waking up next to you was the best present ever.**_

_Christmas morning, one year earlier…_

_I was almost scared to open my eyes. There was no way I could have consumed that much eggnog without paying a high price the next morning. From behind closed lids I felt surprisingly okay, so I braved a peek with one eye and was instantly met with a gorgeous green eye staring back at me._

"_Merry Christmas," Edward whispered. "How do you feel, Mrs Eggnog?"_

_I grinned and opened my other eye, still no trace of a hangover. "I feel surprisingly great." I looked down and realized I was in one of Edward's t-shirts. "I don't remember much about last night… did you undress me?"_

"_I did." He shuffled closer and kissed me. "I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. I'd hoped the first time I got to remove your clothes would have been something you'd remember."_

"_Yeah, me too." I pouted. "I don't suppose we could wear them again now?"_

"_We will… just not right now," he whispered and rolled on top of me. "I'm not letting you get dressed; I want to remove the clothes you're still wearing."_

_My stomach clenched and my heart began to thump loudly in my chest. Were we going to do this now? With his parents downstairs… on Christmas morning? It would make a goddamn fantastic present I suppose._

_Edward was back in the loose, cotton boxer shorts, grinding against me as we kissed and I gasped as he rubbed in just the right spot._

"_Edward," I breathed and ran my hands up and down his back._

_His breathing was ragged and his kisses became more intense. I pushed him over onto his back and straddled him without breaking the kiss. After a few seconds, I sat back with a smirk and raised my arms over my head._

"_My shirt looks good on you," he murmured hungrily and then tugged it off. "But you're even more perfect without it."_

_His hands caressed my breasts and my eyes fluttered at how good it felt. When his hands were replaced by his warm mouth, I moaned a little too loudly._

"_Sssh, Bella. I will not be interrupted again." He rolled us both back over, pulling my underwear down and finding me more than ready for him._

"_Oh my God, Edward." I arched my back when he pushed two fingers inside me._

_He kissed me, presumably to try and muffle the noises I seemed to have no control over. _

"_Bella, I need to…" he croaked, so I wiggled his boxers down. _

_As he toyed with my clit, I wrapped my hand around his length and slowly moved it up and down. His eyes squeezed shut and a deep groan rumbled in his chest._

"_I want you now, Edward," I told him and he nodded._

"_I'm yours, always, Bella," he said as he slowly eased inside and I was almost done. _

_We fit together so perfectly in every way. A month ago I didn't even know this man existed and now I couldn't imagine my life without him. Slowly moving back and forth at first, he was tender and loving, but we both needed more and each thrust of his hips came harder and faster._

_My orgasm rushed through me like a bolt of lightning and it hit me everywhere from the top of my ears to the tips of my toes. My entire body clamped down around him and my release was almost immediately followed by Edward's. I watched, in awe, at his expression. If it was at all possible, he looked even more beautiful like this. _

"_I love you," I whispered and he smiled a tired but exhilarated smile._

"_I love you, too."_

"She can't hear you. Whatever he's written in these notes has her away with the fairies." Alice's voice interrupted my lovely memory.

"Hey, Elf Girl. Wake up!" Rose jabbed me with her elbow.

"Ow, Rose. What the hell?" I rubbed my arm and shot her a dirty look. "It's Christmas Eve, be merry. I'm here doing this as a favour for you, aren't I?"

We were still hanging around waiting for Santa to arrive. I was still pissed that Rose hadn't persuaded Edward to dress up again. I still had to enjoy him in that suit, but now after some other dude was going to be wearing it, I doubted it would have the same appeal.

I looked around the ward, hoping to see a glimpse of him. If I couldn't see him in the Santa Suit, I'd happily take seeing him in his scrubs… or his white coat.

"He's with a new patient," Rose told me. "They're hoping she'll be settled enough to see the end of Santa's appearance."

"Oh, okay," I said a little dejectedly. It was our anniversary… our first official anniversary anyway, and I hadn't seen him all day.

"Hey, Elf-Girl, Did you miss me?"

I spun around in horror and instantly covered my nose and the bells on my hat. "Oh, shit," I muttered. "What kind of torture do you want to inflict on me now?"

A very different and slightly older looking Embry stood grinning at me. "I came to see Doc, and he asked me to give you this." He handed me yet another note, and swatted the bell on my hat before I could dodge out of his way.

"Thanks for the note, but if you touch my bell again I will kill you," I said and he laughed.

"You can go now," Rose said, waving him away and he threw her the finger. "You little shit."

Alice and I laughed as she chased after him. "So what does this one say?" she asked, trying to peer over my shoulder.

I pressed the note against my chest and walked away to read it.

_**I wish I could think of a better word, but this past year has been simply amazing, Bella. When Rose ordered me into that hideous suit I never thought for a second that it would lead to this. I wish I could be there with you to hand out gifts, but I think that Rose was under the impression we'd get a little distracted. She's probably right. How many dinner reservations do you think we missed because of our mutual distraction? I don't think we could count… but there was one I rather wish we'd missed.**_

_June, six months earlier…_

"_Really? She had to be here… tonight?" I sighed as soon as I saw what… or who Edward had noticed heading our way. _

"_Tanya is here?" Esme asked. "Oh dear." _

_We were out to celebrate Edward's birthday with his parents and seeing my former employer and Edward's former girlfriend wasn't part of the plan for the evening. Ever since she'd fired me and been dumped by Edward, Tanya's outrageous behaviour grew worse and worse._

_She took a few really high profile jobs and her face was plastered over billboards and buses all over Boston. Unfortunately, she'd taken her desperation to look perfect one step too far and decided to have a boob job. According to Esme, who was still friends with Tanya's mother, it went disastrously wrong and she was left with one bigger and more… northward facing… than the other. _

_She was currently waiting for corrective surgery, but as a result the offers had started to dwindle, who wants a lingerie model with wonky tits? _

_I kept in touch with Jessica, who to my amazement was still working for her. Apparently, since I left there had been at least seven second assistants come and go. Her demands had evolved from simply demanding breakfast be ready and waiting for her, to arriving early enough to serve it to her in bed._

"_Well, look at this," she said, turning up her nose as she approached the table. "Don't you two look cosy?"_

_Edward's hand was on top of mine on the table and he made no attempt to move it. "Tanya," he said coolly. "How are you?"_

"_Fabulous," she gushed. "I have the most incredible, handsome boyfriend and I'm writing a book."_

"_A book?" Dr. C almost choked on a mouthful of wine and even Esme was trying not to smile. _

"_Yes, it's a sort of how to guide for aspiring models." She put her hand on the back of Dr. C's chair. "I thought I'd share my talents with others."_

"_Talents? Insane demands more like," I said without thinking and Edward chuckled._

_She ignored my remark and started babbling about the plan for the book and I found myself staring at her chest. She had a ruffled top on to hide the problem I expected, but if you really looked the difference was noticeable. One was definitely more pert than the other._

_I made myself look away, only to find Dr. C staring at them… and Esme. There was only poor Edward making a conscious effort to look at her face._

"_Are you still renovating that house?" she asked and Edward nodded. "How you can live like that is beyond me."_

"_It's nearly finished," Edward told her. "As soon as the kitchen and bathrooms were finished, we focused on our bedroom. We've only got a few more rooms and the garden and it'll be done."_

"_**Our**__ bedroom?" she repeated._

"_Uh oh," I mumbled._

"_She's living with you?" Her voice went an octave higher and she might have been angry, but her expression didn't change at all… Botox related problem I guessed._

"_Yeah," Edward said casually. "Since Valentines."_

"_That man stealing little tramp is living in my house." Her voice was louder and I cringed._

"_First of all, Bella neither stole me, nor is she a tramp, Tanya," Edward hissed. "We were over a long time before I ever met her, I just didn't know how to tell you. Second, you hated that house; you wanted me to buy some overpriced penthouse apartment like yours."_

"_You wouldn't have met her without me," she screeched. "She was my assistant."_

"_Edward, let's just leave it," I whispered but he shook his head._

"_Actually, we met at the hospital, Tanya. Bella volunteers there and she was on my ward handing out presents with me. It was just one great big coincidence that she worked for you," Edward told her._

"_Tanya, maybe you should go back to your table," Esme said kindly. "You and Edward both changed so much, it happens and now you've both moved on. He's happy with Bella, and like you said you have a wonderful boyfriend of your own and a successful career. It would be a shame to leave things on such bad terms, don't you think?"_

"_Actually no," Tanya spat and chose instead to dump the contents of her glass over Edward's head. _

"_I think I preferred you slapping me in the face," Edward growled as he wiped his face and neck with a napkin. "How I stuck with you all those years is beyond me."_

"_Why you ever chose her over me is beyond me," she threw back at him._

"_Yeah, you're one of a kind, Tanya," I said, helping mop up some of the champagne from Edward's shirt and pants._

"_And you're just the plain Jane with no idea who you're up against." She was causing a scene and I hated that._

"_Just leave it, Tanya," I told her. "This isn't the time or the place to talk about this."_

_Apparently she really didn't want to let this go. "Go fuck yourself, Bella."_

"_You know what… I think I'll just go and fuck Edward instead." I didn't even bother looking at her; she was already getting more of a reaction from me than I'd ever wanted. _

"_You little bitch."_

"_Enough!" Esme said to Tanya fiercely. _

"_Maybe we should leave," Dr. C said, glaring at Tanya. "How about we go to Roast Beast?"_

"_Sounds good, Dad," Edward said. _

"_Yes I think that's wise, before I do something much, much worse than pouring champagne over someone." Esme caught Tanya in a stare that had me cowering, so god knows how Tanya felt._

_We all stood up and Tanya grabbed my arm. "He's way out of your league," she said to me. "You could never keep hold of a man like him."_

"_At least my tits are level." I shrugged and shook my arm free. _

_We could still hear her Tanyatrum outside the restaurant._

"_Are you okay, sweetheart?" Esme fussed over Edward and he nodded._

"_Yeah, sticky but fine." He kissed her cheek and then went all serious. "I couldn't believe you guys. I was trying to talk to her face and you were all staring at her chest. Thanks, for that."_

"_Did you see them?" Esme asked me and I nodded. _

"_She'd probably make more money from the wonky breasts than she will do her book," Dr. C said and then laughed. "Call me crazy, but I don't expect to see that on the New York Times Bestsellers list."_

"_Stranger things have happened," Edward said._

_As we walked, Dr. C tapped my arm._

"_Tanya was wrong, you know," he said softly. _

"_About what?" I asked._

"_You're definitely in his league, Edward's my son and I love him, but he's lucky to have you. We're all lucky to have you."_

_**The dinner might not have gone to plan, but that night is definitely one of my top five. I love you.**_

I grinned and folded the note back up. Not having him here with me sucked, but these notes were a good substitute. Despite the shittiness that was the confrontation with Tanya, the night turned out great. I still didn't manage to finish the mammoth sandwich, but watching Esme try might just have been the funniest thing I'd ever seen.

After that, we'd had a lot of one on one fun celebrating Edward's birthday, he was right; it was definitely one of my top five. As I turned the paper around in my hand I noticed one line written on the back.

_**I bet I know what your number one is…**_

_Four weeks earlier…_

_Just before last Christmas, Dr. C had taken my sketches and notes to show one of his former patients. Harry Clearwater owned a relatively small, but successful toy store in Boston. When he was getting ready to retire, his children, Leah and Seth started taking a more active role in the company and persuaded him to expand. Instead of sticking to the mass-produced toys, they wanted to add a range of unique, handmade gift ideas._

_It proved successful and they had taken on a small team of designers to help them. I was employed initially on a three month trial, but in April I was offered a permanent position and I loved it. I got paid to come up with ideas for toys, I got to see the ideas come to life and sit on the shelves in the shop._

_So far, one of my designs was the company's best seller. It wasn't anything too spectacular, but people seemed to like it. The simple little wooden train came with a carriage which had the child's name printed on it. The middle of the train had four spinning pieces of wood with numbers and symbols on for addition, subtraction etc. It cost barely anything to make and we had a waiting list of people wanting them as Christmas gifts this year._

_I worked in a little studio overlooking the main factory floor and one night I completely lost track of time. A loud bang and then someone cursing scared me to death. My phone was dead and there was no one else here, so I armed myself with a toy sword and a can of snow spray and took off hunting for the intruder. I was convinced it was just kids messing around, but instead I found one Dr. Edward Cullen sitting in one of the toy cars we made that were waiting to be packed and shipped to customers._

"_What are you doing?" I asked and he grinned sheepishly._

"_I'm stuck." _

"_Yeah I can see that," I groaned. He looked ridiculous. "Why are you here?"_

"_I came to bring you dinner and beer. Then I thought this looked really cool… but I'm regretting it now." His head was poking up out of the roof and his knees were almost by his ears. "Help me."_

"_There's a reason it's for kids aged six and under, Edward." I laughed. "You're a few years past that mark." _

_I tried pulling, pushing, bending, and wriggling his feet, but he really was stuck fast._

"_I'll take off your shoes, hold on." I bent down and somehow managed to free his feet. "Try it now. You really are stuck, huh?"_

"_No shit, Bella," he said panicked and I giggled. "It's not funny."_

"_If you could see yourself right now, I think you'd disagree." I continued to laugh as I tried to help him. I slid my arms under his shoulders and clasped my hands together. "Okay, you push with your legs, I'll pull your body and I think we might do it."_

_I leaned back, using all of my bodyweight to pull and he was pushing as hard as he could. All of a sudden he tumbled to the side and fell out of the car with a thud._

"_Ow." He huffed and stood up brushing himself down. "That was humiliating."_

"_Are you done playing with the children's toys now?" I teased, which seemed to anger him… in a good way._

"_With the cars, yes, But believe me, I'm not done playing," he growled and kissed me._

_He backed me towards the car again and the kissing led to more kissing… which led to touching… lots and lots of touching. That in turn, led to nakedness and then really, really, hot, hungry, angry Edward, mind blowing sex on the hood of the offending child's car._

_I tried not to react the following morning when the factory foreman told Seth that one of the cars had been sent for repair after a strange dent appeared on the hood._

I put the note into my pocket and saw Alice smiling.

"What?" I asked.

"You are so thinking about sex right now." She laughed. "You're all flushed and wide-eyed."

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Can we do this?" Rose barked. "Santa's ready and the kids are about to explode they're so excited."

This year's Santa was not my green-eyed, sexy as hell Doctor and he was wearing a different suit that I didn't appreciate as much as last year's.

"Bella, stop sulking," Rose warned.

"Fine," I muttered. "Ho, ho, fucking ho."

Alice laughed and then we accompanied second-rate Santa into the room full of screaming, excited kids. We helped him hand out gifts and talked to the children.

I constantly scanned the room, but Edward was nowhere to be seen. I hoped my disappointment didn't show to the children, but I was seriously bummed and my patience was evaporating quickly.

"I swear the next little brat that pulls my beard or rings my bells is getting their gift shoved up their nose," I hissed to Alice who just giggled.

Finally, after the last child opened their present, Santa dropped the sack onto the floor. It made a noise like there was something inside and one of the kids ran over to have a look.

"There's another gift in here," she said and held up a small, gift-wrapped box: The kind of box that a ring usually came in.

"Who's it for, honey?" Alice asked.

"Um… it says To, B-E-A-R-D-E-D-E-L-F," she read each letter out individually and my heart began to race.

"That's Bearded Elf," Alice told her.

"Oh, then it must be for you." The girl handed me the gift and I saw my hands were shaking as I held it.

There was a note attached to it and I opened it quickly.

_Come to our closet._

I looked nervously at Rose who was now smirking and she gestured for me to leave. Alice had to give me a push along and I walked slowly out of the room towards the janitor's closet where it all started.

I didn't dare open the box; I was already getting far too ahead of myself wondering what the hell was going on. I opened the door nervously and my heart swelled when I saw the Santa I'd been hoping for waiting for me in the closet.

"Hey," I said, a huge smile forming on my face.

"Hey," Edward said back, his smile matching my own. "Sorry I wasn't there to hand out the gifts… I was busy getting ready for this instead."

"It's okay." I stepped into the room and he shut the door behind me. "I didn't open it."

"You should," he whispered. "That's what people generally do with presents."

"I don't want to," I admitted and he frowned.

"Why?"

"I'm scared." My voice was shaking.

"You're scared?" he asked and I nodded. "Why?"

He was being so patient I felt guilty, so I tried to explain it to him so he'd understand. Unfortunately, my word-vomit started instantly and I wasn't sure I even understood.

"Okay, it's Christmas Eve and we're _here_ dressed like _this_… and you've been leaving me all these cute, reflective notes all day about everything we've shared this past year. Then, I get this," I waved the box in front of his face. "And I wonder if you really might be about to do the thing I really want you to be doing, but then I think what if you're not? What if this is just a normal gift, like earrings? I don't want to open it and be ungrateful, because I would really love earrings or something… but you'd think I hated the gift and we'd end up being all weird and-"

"Breathing is good," Edward interrupted and yanked down my beard. He was smiling and that was a good thing considering my humiliating outburst a few seconds ago. "Maybe if I give you this last note, things might be clearer?"

He pulled out one last piece of paper and placed it in my shaking hand. As I looked down at it, I heard him opening the present.

_**I loved thinking about this past year and the memories we've made already. The thing is, Bella, I want more… I want a lifetime of memories with you.**_

_**Will you marry me?**_

I laughed hysterically, because it was either that or burst into tears. I looked up and he wasn't there, while I'd been reading, he'd opened the box and dropped to one knee in front of me.

"Bella, my Bearded Elf Girl, I love you. Will you make me the happiest man on the planet and be my wife?" His voice was shaking, but I had no idea why he was nervous.

"Yes," I whispered and he slid the ring onto my finger. "A million times yes."

"Every time something significant happens with us we're in these costumes." He grinned and stood up.

"Every day with you is significant, Edward." I pulled down his beard and kissed him with more passion and hunger than I had ever felt.

Maybe it was the fact he'd just asked me to marry him? Or the fact we were here, in the closet dressed in these costumes with all the unfinished business we had with them? Perhaps it was simply the time of year? Regardless of the cause, the consequence was going to be amazing.

Within seconds we were fumbling with the costumes, quickly removing each itchy, padded item. The heavy red pants fell to the floor with a clatter and I giggled at the memory of the first time we'd heard that noise.

"You'd better not be laughing at me," he mumbled.

"Not you just the sound…" His fingers slipped into my underwear. "Oh fuck, never mind."

"Up," he ordered, moving his hand to grab my ass.

I let him lift me up and wrapped my legs tightly around his hips.

"A year I've been waiting to do this," he growled and slammed me up against the wall.

I kept the noise to a minimum, but fuck it was hard… as was Edward incidentally… really fucking hard. After all, he wasn't the only one who fantasized about this very situation.

Each time he thrust into me, my hold on him grew tighter and tighter. My legs were holding onto him like a vice and I worried that he might not be able to breath, not that he was complaining.

"Fuck, Bella," he panted, the muscles in his back flexed and his legs were starting to tremble. "I'm not going to last long."

The more I could hear, see, and feel him coming undone, the closer it brought me and Edward nibbling on my neck tipped me over the edge. I cried out and Edward covered my mouth with his, swearing and growling as he came with me.

He kissed me softly as we caught our breath and then lowered me gently to my feet. I looked at my ring with a face-splitting smile. "Does this make me Mrs. Claus or you Mr. Bearded Elf?"

"Neither." He smiled. "You're definitely a Mrs. Cullen. The pseudonyms are for special occasions only."

We made a slow, reluctant attempt to get dressed. I would have happily stayed in there all night, but Rosalie had other ideas. She knocked on the door and cleared her throat.

"I know what Santa was planning and because of that I'm going to pretend I had no idea what you two were just up to in here. That being said, you need to get dressed and get the fuck out of my hospital so I can have the closet sterilised." She laughed. "Congratulations to both of you by the way."

"Thanks, Rose," I said excitedly. "We'll be right out."

"Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"You can keep the costumes," she told us, and we burst out laughing.

Who would have thought an itchy, unflattering, costume could have brought me here? I could just picture _our_ announcement in the local newspaper...

_Santa Claus & Bearded Elf to tie the knot! _

Short and sweet, but what else was there to say?

* * *

**So that's that! Thank you all for such an incredible response. I can't lie there were some chapters I was scared to post but I appreciate you all sticking with me and I hope you liked the Elfilogue!**

**I'm off now to put out mince pies and carrots and build two bicycles after drinking a little too much wine :O**

**To everyone who celebrates, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.**

**See you in 2014!**

**xoxoxoxoxoxox**


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